Peyton Cole Battenfield (born August 10, 1997) 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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

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). He has previously played in MLB for the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

Amateur career

Battenfield attended Verdigris High School in

Verdigris, Oklahoma Verdigris is an incorporated town in Rogers County, Oklahoma, United States, in the Tulsa metropolitan area. It straddles former U.S. Highway 66 (now State Highway 66) between Catoosa and Claremore. Verdigris had a population of 3,993 at the 2 ...

. As a senior he was ''

The Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circulation) lists it as the 59th larges ...

'' All-State Baseball Player of the Year. After high school 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 pl ...

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

Professional career

Houton Astros

Battenfield was selected by the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

in the ninth round of the

2019 Major League Baseball draft The 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In additi ...

. He made his professional debut that season with the

Tri-City ValleyCats The Tri-City ValleyCats (often shortened to Cats) are a professional independent baseball team based in Troy, New York. The Tri-City name refers to the three nearby cities of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy which make up New York State's Capital D ...

, going 2–1 with a 1.60 earned run average over 14 starts.

Tampa Bay Rays

On January 9, 2020, the Astros traded Battenfield and

Cal Stevenson Cal Stevenson (born September 12, 1996) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022. Career Stevenson attended John F. Kennedy High School in Fremont, Ca ...

to the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

for

Austin Pruitt Austin Daniel Pruitt (born August 31, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Oakland Athletics organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Houston Astros, and Miami Marlins. Ca ...

. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 since the season was cancelled due to 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 identif ...

. Battenfield began the 2021 with the

High-A High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Bowling Green Hot Rods The Bowling Green Hot Rods are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and play their home games at Bowling Green Ballpark, which open ...

before being promoted to the Double-A

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

Cleveland Indians / Guardians

On July 30, 2021, the Rays traded Battenfield to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

in exchange for

Jordan Luplow Jordan Thomas Luplow ( ; born September 26, 1993) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays ...

and D. J. Johnson. After the trade, he was assigned to the Double-A

Akron RubberDucks The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

. Over 21 games (19 starts) between the three teams, he went 7–1 with a 2.53 earned run average and 131 strikeouts over 103 innings. Battenfield began the 2022 season with the Triple-A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

. The Guardians selected Battenfield's contract as a

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

replacement player on August 12, 2022. He was returned to Columbus on August 15 without making appearance, becoming a

phantom ballplayer A phantom ballplayer is either a baseball player who is incorrectly listed in source materials as playing in a Major League Baseball (MLB) game, often the result of typographical or clerical errors, or a player who spent time on an MLB Major Leag ...

. On the year, he started 28 games for Columbus, posting an 8-6 record and 3.63 ERA with 109 strikeouts in 153.2 innings pitched. On April 10, 2023, the Guardians selected Battenfield's contract a second time. He made his MLB debut as the Guardians' starting pitcher on April 12. Battenfield pitched 4 innings, allowing no walks, striking out three, and allowing a single earned run. He would go winless in his next four decisions, posting an 0–5 record and 5.19 ERA in 7 appearances (6 starts). On May 19, Battenfield was placed on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list on June 3. On August 3, Battenfield was activated from the injured list and optioned to Triple–A Columbus. The Guardians

designated Designation (from Latin ''designatio'') is the process of determining an incumbent's successor. A candidate that won an election for example, is the ''designated'' holder of the office the candidate has been elected to, up until the candidate's i ...

Battenfield for assignment on August 31.

New York Mets

On September 2, 2023, Battenfield was claimed off waivers by the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battenfield, Peyton 1997 births Living people Akron RubberDucks players Bowling Green Hot Rods players Cleveland Guardians players Columbus Clippers players Major League Baseball pitchers Montgomery Biscuits players Oklahoma State Cowboys baseball players Baseball players from Tulsa, Oklahoma Tri-City ValleyCats players