Peter Robert O'Brien (born July 15, 1990) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

for the

Pericos de Puebla The Pericos de Puebla (English: "Puebla Parrots") are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Puebla, Mexico. History The state of Puebla came upon baseball in the early 1920s when returning Poblanos that had come from militar ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. He previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

and Miami Marlins.

Amateur career

O'Brien attended

G. Holmes Braddock High School G. Holmes Braddock Senior High School is a secondary school located in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The school is named after a former 38-year member of the school board, who, as chairperson from 1969 to 1970, led ...

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. He played for the school's baseball team, and transitioned to

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

during his senior year. Unselected in the

2008 MLB draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first rou ...

, O'Brien chose to enroll at

Bethune–Cookman University Bethune–Cookman University (BCU or Bethune–Cookman) is a private historically black university in Daytona Beach, Florida. Bethune–Cookman University is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The primary administration building, Wh ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for the

Bethune–Cookman Wildcats The Bethune–Cookman Wildcats are the athletic teams that represent Bethune–Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida. Bethune-Cookman is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference and participates in NCAA Division I Football Champions ...

team in the

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern and the Mid-Atlantic United States. It participates in the National C ...

(MEAC). In 2010, he was named MEAC player of the year. After the 2010 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Bourne Braves The Bourne Braves are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bourne, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Braves play their home games at Doran Park on the ca ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League. The Colorado Rockies selected O'Brien in the third round of the

2011 MLB draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the first ...

, but he opted not to sign, and instead transferred to the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

for his senior year, where he played for the

Miami Hurricanes baseball The Miami Hurricanes baseball team is the college baseball program that represents the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. Since 1973, the program has been one of college baseball's elite with 25 College World Series appearances, winnin ...

team in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). He was named All-ACC for the 2012 season.

Professional career

New York Yankees

The

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

selected O'Brien in the second round of the

2012 MLB draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto ...

, and O'Brien signed with the Yankees. O'Brien started his professional career with the

Gulf Coast Yankees The Florida Complex League Yankees are a Rookie-level affiliate of the New York Yankees, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseba ...

and after four games was promoted to the

Staten Island Yankees The Staten Island Yankees were a minor league baseball team located in the New York City borough of Staten Island from 1999 to 2020. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers", the Yankees were the Class A Short Season affiliate of the New York Yankees and pla ...

. He finished his first season hitting .212/.256/.401 with 10 home runs and 34

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

. O'Brien started the 2013 season with the

Charleston RiverDogs The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. Hi ...

. On June 21, 2013 he was promoted to the

Tampa Yankees Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

. After the 2013 season, he competed in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fille ...

. O'Brien began the 2014 season with the

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Eastern League.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Yankees traded O'Brien to the

for

Martín Prado Martín Manuel Prado Torcate (born October 27, 1983) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees and Miami Marlins. During h ...

on July 31, 2014. The Diamondbacks assigned him to the

Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–2 ...

of the Class AA Southern League. After the 2014 season, the Diamondbacks assigned O'Brien to the

. The Diamondbacks assigned O'Brien to the

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, which opened in 2009. ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

Pacific Coast League (PCL) in 2015, and converted him into an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

. On July 14, 2015, O'Brien participated in the Triple A Homerun Derby. He finished in second place with a total of 20 home runs. O'Brien made his major league debut on September 11, 2015, at Chase Field against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. He went 1-for-1 and drove in his first run while pinch hitting for pitcher Enrique Burgos. His first hit was a ground ball single up the middle to center field, coming off of Ian Thomas. He drove in shortstop

Nick Ahmed Nicholas Mark Ahmed (born March 15, 1990) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). Amateur career Ahmed attended East Longmeadow High School in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, wh ...

on the hit. O'Brien was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Diamondbacks on December 23, 2016.

Kansas City Royals

The Diamondbacks traded O'Brien to the Kansas City Royals for minor leaguer Sam Lewis. Following the Royals Spring Training camp, O'Brien was sent back to the minors and briefly played for the

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, and play their home games at We ...

of the PCL, before he was designated for assignment on May 10, 2017.

Cincinnati Reds

On May 16, 2017, the Cincinnati Reds claimed O'Brien off of waivers and assigned him to the Louisville Bats of the Triple-A International League. He played in five games for Louisville, and was designated for assignment by Cincinnati on May 25.

Texas Rangers

On May 27, 2017, the Texas Rangers claimed O'Brien off waivers. After playing in 16 games for the Triple-A

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

and Double-A

Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Frisco, Texas, and are named for the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regime ...

, O'Brien was again designated for assignment on June 17, 2017 when

Ernesto Frieri Ernesto Frieri Gutiérrez ree-eh'-ree(born July 19, 1985) is a Colombian former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Pittsburgh Pirates, Tam ...

was selected to the roster.

Los Angeles Dodgers

O'Brien was claimed off waivers by the

on June 18, 2017. After hitting .219/.297/.465 in 45 games for the Double-A Tulsa Drillers, O'Brien was designated for assignment by the Dodgers on July 31. He was outrighted to the Triple-A

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Dodgers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Ba ...

on August 3.

Miami Marlins

On May 31, 2018, O'Brien was traded to the Miami Marlins in exchange for cash considerations. O'Brien had his contract selected on September 4, 2018. He hit 4 home runs with 10 RBI in 22 games for the Marlins in 2018. After hitting .167/.255/.262 in 14 games to start the year, on June 20, 2019, O'Brien was designated for assignment. He spent the remainder of the season in Triple-A with the

New Orleans Baby Cakes The New Orleans Baby Cakes (formerly the New Orleans Zephyrs) were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They were located in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, ...

and elected free agency on October 15, 2019.

Atlanta Braves

On December 16, 2019, O'Brien signed a minor league contract with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. O’Brien was released by the Braves organization on August 16, 2020.

Toros de Tijuana

On April 27, 2021, O'Brien signed with the

Toros de Tijuana The Toros de Tijuana (or Tijuana Bulls) are a Mexican Baseball team based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. They are members of the Mexican Baseball League and play their home games at Estadio Chevron. Team history Original Attempt The fran ...

of the

. In 60 games, he hit .258/.303/.554 with 16 home runs and 39 RBIs. O'Brien hit a go-ahead home run in Game 7 of the

Serie del Rey The Serie del Rey () is the annual championship series of the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol to determine a champion at the end of each season since 1970. The champions from each division, Norte and Sur (), compete in a best-of-seven series, with the winn ...

, which culminated in a 3–0 win and the Toros' second league championship.

Pericos de Puebla

On December 24, 2021, O'Brien was traded to the

of the

in exchange for a player to be named later. O'Brien played in 85 games for Puebla in 2022, hitting .298/.375/.676 with 32 home runs and 78 RBI.

Personal life

O'Brien was born and raised in

Miami Gardens, Florida Miami Gardens is a city in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida. It is located north of Downtown Miami with city boundaries that stretch from I-95 and Northeast 2nd Avenue to its east to Northwest 47th and Northwest 57th Avenues to its w ...

. His mother, Mercedes, immigrated from

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and was a former dancer in the

Cuban National Ballet The Cuban National Ballet ( es, Ballet Nacional de Cuba) is a classical ballet company based at Great Theatre of Havana in Havana, Cuba, founded by the Cuban prima ballerina assoluta, Alicia Alonso in 1948. The official school of the company ...

. His father, Terry, is an American former college baseball player. O'Brien is bilingual and learned

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

as his first language.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Peter 1990 births Living people American sportspeople of Cuban descent American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from Miami Major League Baseball left fielders Arizona Diamondbacks players Miami Marlins players Bethune–Cookman Wildcats baseball players Miami Hurricanes baseball players Bourne Braves players Gulf Coast Yankees players Staten Island Yankees players Charleston RiverDogs players Tampa Yankees players Trenton Thunder players Mobile BayBears players Reno Aces players Omaha Storm Chasers players Louisville Bats players Frisco RoughRiders players Round Rock Express players Tulsa Drillers players Yaquis de Obregón players Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp players New Orleans Baby Cakes players Toros del Este players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Toros de Tijuana players Pericos de Puebla players