Raudy Miguel Read Placencia (born October 29, 1993) is a Dominican professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

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 has 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

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

Career

Washington Nationals

Read signed with the

as an international free agent on January 24, 2011. He spent the 2011 and 2012 seasons playing in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

with the

Dominican Summer League Nationals The Dominican Summer League Nationals or DSL Nationals are a rookie-level Minor League Baseball team of the Dominican Summer League that began play in 2005. They are located in Boca Chica, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic The Dominican R ...

in the

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

-level

Dominican Summer League The Dominican Summer League (DSL) is a branch of affiliated Minor League Baseball which is played in the Dominican Republic. The league was founded in 1985. After the demise of the Venezuelan Summer League after the 2015 season, it is the only L ...

.milb.com Raudy Read
/ref> He batted .157 with four home runs and 22 runs batted in (RBIs) in 42 games in 2011 and improved to .251 with nine home runs and 47 RBIs in 62 games in 2012. In 2013, Read played in the rookie-level

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the lo ...

for the

Gulf Coast League Nationals The Florida Complex League Nationals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Washington Nationals, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Nationals. The t ...

,Baseball Reference: Rafael Bautista
/ref> who that year finished their regular season with a record of 49–9, giving them the highest

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

(.845) for a full regular season ever achieved by a minor-league baseball team based in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The team then won all three of its playoff games, defeating the

Gulf Coast League Pirates The Florida Complex League Pirates are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Pirates. The team plays its h ...

in a single-game semifinal playoff and sweeping the

Gulf Coast League Red Sox The Florida Complex League Red Sox are a professional baseball team competing in the rookie-level Florida Complex League (FCL) of Minor League Baseball. The team is owned and operated by the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior ...

in the best-of-three league championship series, to become the 2013 Gulf Coast League champions. Read appeared in 40 games during the championship season, batting .252 with two home runs, 17

RBIs 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 bat ...

, and two stolen bases. Read spent 2014 with the

Auburn Doubledays The Auburn Doubledays are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) that is located in Auburn, New York. From 1958 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) ...

of the

Low-A Class A, also known as Single-A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A, Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classified at the Single-A level, one for each ...

New York-Penn League New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, appearing in 57 games and hitting .281 with six home runs and 32 RBIs. He continued to rise through the Washington Nationals's minor-league system, splitting 2015 between the

Hagerstown Suns The Hagerstown Suns were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland. They were a member of the South Atlantic League and, from 2007 through 2020, were the Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They played their home g ...

of the

Single-A Class A, also known as Single-A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classif ...

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

and the

Potomac Nationals The Potomac Nationals were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They were located in Woodbridge, Virginia, and played their home games at Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium. After the 2019 season, the team relocated to Fr ...

of 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 ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

, hitting .244 with five home runs and 36 RBIs in 82 games with the Suns and going 7-for-18 (.389) with two doubles and five RBIs in five games with Potomac. He spent all of 2016 with Potomac, playing in 101 games and hitting .262 with nine home runs and 41 RBIs. The Nationals added Read to their 40-man roster after the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

on November 18, 2016. Read was promoted to the

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team of the Eastern League, and the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who play their home games at FNB Field on City Island, which opened in 1987 a ...

of the Double-A Eastern League for 2017. A right-handed hitter, he got off to a hot start at the Double-A level, hitting .345 with a pair of home runs in April before cooling off somewhat in May. Read was named to the Eastern League's All-Star roster for the Western Division in 2017. Better regarded for his right-handed bat and arm strength than for his defense and blocking skills behind the plate, Read was described by ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' in 2017 as a team leader with a "take-charge" attitude. The publication ranked him in July 2017 as the Nationals' ninth-best prospect, while '' MLB Pipelines midseason prospect ranking listed him at fourteenth-best in the organization. Both considered him the team's best overall catching prospect. After hitting .265 with 17 home runs and 61 runs batted in 108 games for the Senators, Read was called up to the major leagues for the first time on September 1, 2017, when the Washington Nationals added him to the roster along with two minor-league pitchers when major-league rosters expanded for the last few weeks of the 2017 season. Read pinch-hit and grounded out on September 3, 2017, in his major-league debut against the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

. The next day, he hit an infield single deflected off the glove of

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

pitcher Jarlin García for his first major-league hit. On February 7, 2018, Read became the first rostered player in Washington Nationals team history to be suspended for violating MLB's policy against the use of

performance-enhancing drugs Performance-enhancing substances, also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. A well-known example of cheating in sports involves doping in sport, where bann ...

. He received an 80-game suspension due to a positive test for the steroid

Boldenone Boldenone (developmental code name RU-18761), is a naturally occurring anabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS) and the 1(2)- dehydrogenated analogue of testosterone. Boldenone itself has never been marketed; as a pharmaceutical drug, it is used as ...

during the 2017 season. He denied using steroids and said he would appeal the suspension. He was replaced on the Nationals' roster by utility infielder Matt Reynolds. Read would play in 53 minor league games split between Harrisburg and the Triple-A

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

without appearing in a major league game due to his suspension. Read spent the majority of the 2019 season with the Triple-A

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in do ...

, batting .275/.317/.546 with 20 home runs and 60 RBI. He also made 6 appearances for the big league club, going 1-for-11 with a single. Read did not appear in a game for Washington in 2020. On October 13, 2020, Read was outrighted off of the Nationals’ 40-man roster. He split the 2021 season between Washington's rookie-league affiliate, the Single-A

Fredericksburg Nationals The Fredericksburg Nationals are a Minor League Baseball team that is the Single-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and play their home games at Virginia Credit Union Stadium, with a capacity ...

, and the Triple-A

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

. In 28 total games, he hit .284/.361/.590 with 8 home runs and 21 RBI. He elected minor league free agency following the season on November 7, 2021.

Chicago White Sox

On February 11, 2022, Read signed a minor league contract with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

. He was assigned to the Double-A

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The current ...

to start the season. He appeared in 88 games split between Birmingham and the Triple-A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

, slashing .303/.396/.557 with 18 home runs and 71 RBI between the two affiliates. He was released by the organization on September 18.

Spire City Ghost Hounds

On February 20, 2023, Read signed with the

Spire City Ghost Hounds The Spire City Ghost Hounds are a professional baseball team in Frederick, Maryland, that began play in 2023. The franchise competes in the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and plays home games at Nymeo Field at Har ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. In 81 games for the Ghost Hounds, Read batted .305/.351/.551 with 20 home runs and 53 RBI.

Pericos de Puebla

On October 10, 2023, Read signed with the

of the

. On November 2, Read was drafted by the

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs are an American professional baseball team based in Waldorf, Maryland. They are members of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Baseba ...

in the Ghost Hounds dispersal draft.

Personal life

Read is from

San José de Ocoa San José de Ocoa, or simply Ocoa, is the capital of San José de Ocoa province in the Dominican Republic. It is located north of the Peravia province, and was part of that province until 1 January 2002. History The town was founded in 1805 by pe ...

in the southern

, about from the capital of

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

. Prior to being called up to the major leagues on September 1, 2017, for a series at

Miller Park American Family Field is a retractable roof stadium used primarily for baseball. It is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, just southwest of the intersection of Interstate 94 and Brewers Boulevard. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Milwauk ...

against the

, Read had never attended a regular-season

game.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Read, Raudy 1993 births Living people Auburn Doubledays players Birmingham Barons players Charlotte Knights players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Nationals players Florida Complex League Nationals players Fredericksburg Nationals players Fresno Grizzlies players Gulf Coast Nationals players Hagerstown Suns players Harrisburg Senators players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic People from Peravia Province Potomac Nationals players Rochester Red Wings players Spire City Ghost Hounds players Syracuse Chiefs players Toros del Este players Washington Nationals players