Richard Ureña Castillo (born February 26, 1996) is a Dominican

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 ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

who is a free agent. He has 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

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

Professional career

Toronto Blue Jays

Ureña was signed as an international free agent by the Blue Jays for $725,000 in 2012, and played his first professional season split between the Dominican Summer League Blue Jays and

Gulf Coast League Blue Jays The Florida Complex League Blue Jays are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays. The team plays it ...

. In 64 games with the DSL Blue Jays, he batted .296 with one

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and 35

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 bat ...

(RBI). He then played seven games in the Gulf Coast League, batting .333 with three RBI. Ureña was promoted to the Rookie Advanced

Bluefield Blue Jays The Bluefield Blue Jays were a minor league baseball team of the Rookie Appalachian League representing the twin cities of Bluefield, West Virginia, and Bluefield, Virginia. The team played their home games at Bowen Field at Peters Park, a histori ...

of the

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wood bats, its season runs from ...

for the start of the 2014 season, and recorded a 28-game streak of reaching base safely. In 53 games, he hit .318 with two home runs and 20 RBI before he was promoted to the Short Season-A

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bailey Stadium. ...

on August 21. Ureña appeared in nine games for Vancouver, batting .242 with five RBI. On September 24, Ureña was named the Most Valuable Player for Bluefield in 2014. He began the 2015 season with the Class-A

Lansing Lugnuts The Lansing Lugnuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Lansing, Michigan, and play their home games at Jackson Field (Lansing), Jackson Field. The Midwe ...

. On June 5, Ureña was named a Midwest League midseason All-Star. At that time, he led the Lugnuts with seven home runs, and had 35 RBI. Ureña was called up to the Advanced-A

Dunedin Blue Jays The Dunedin Blue Jays are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and are the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball club. They are located in Dunedin, Florida, and play their home games at TD Ballpark, ...

in early July, and played 30 games there before returning to Lansing. In 121 games played, he batted .262 with 16 home runs and 66 RBI. In the offseason, he appeared in 33 games with the

Gigantes del Cibao The Gigantes del Cibao (English: Cibao giants) are a baseball team that plays in the Dominican Winter League. The team was founded in 1996 as ''Gigantes del Noroeste ''then with a change of ownership the name was changed several times, being cal ...

of the

Dominican Winter League Dominican may refer to: * Someone or something from or related to the Dominican Republic ( , stress on the "mi"), on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles, in the Caribbean ** People of the Dominican Republic ** Demographics of the Domi ...

. Batting against pitchers that were over seven years of age older than him on average, Ureña hit .258 with five RBI. Ureña was invited to Major League spring training on January 12, 2016, and reassigned to minor league camp on March 12. He was assigned to the Dunedin Blue Jays to open the 2016 minor league season. Ureña recorded his first career five-hit game on July 9 which gave him 91 hits on the season, raising his batting average to .292 and tying him with

Scott Kingery Scott Michael Kingery (born April 29, 1994) is an American professional baseball utility player in the Philadelphia Phillies organization. The Phillies selected Kingery in the second round, 48th overall, of the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft, ...

for first place in the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

. On July 27, Ureña was ranked 91st on MLB's Top 100 Prospects list, and was named the Blue Jays top prospect. He was promoted to the Double-A

New Hampshire Fisher Cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major league club. During the team's first seas ...

on August 3, and had three hits in his debut that day. On August 10, Ureña hit three

triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...

against the

Bowie Baysox The Bowie Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. History From 1989 to 1992, ...

, which set a Fisher Cats single-game record. In 127 games in 2016, he hit .295 with eight home runs and 59 RBI. The Blue Jays added him to their 40-man roster after the season. Ureña spent the entire 2017 minor league season with Double-A New Hampshire, and hit .247 with five home runs and 60 RBI in a career-high 129 games played. Following his September callup to the Blue Jays in the previous season, Ureña was assigned to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

to start the 2018 season. However, due to an intercostal strain which included a rehab assignment with the Dunedin Blue Jays, he did not join the Bisons until May 2.

Major Leagues

On August 31, 2017, Blue Jays' manager

John Gibbons John Michael Gibbons (born June 8, 1962) is an American former professional baseball player and former manager of the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Gibbons briefly played in the Major Leagues as a catcher with the New York Me ...

announced that Ureña would be called up on September 1. Ureña hit his first MLB home run on September 8, in Toronto's 5–4 loss to the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. On September 12 he walked off the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

, hitting an RBI single off closer

Zach Britton Zackary Grant Britton (born December 22, 1987), known professionally as Zach Britton until February 2019, is a professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles an ...

to give the Blue Jays a 3–2 victory. On December 30, 2019, Ureña was designated for assignment.

Baltimore Orioles

On January 10, 2020, Ureña was claimed off waivers by the

. Ureña was designated for assignment on February 19, 2020. He became a free agent on November 2, 2020.

Toronto Blue Jays (Second stint)

On December 18, 2020, Ureña signed a minor league contract with the

organization.

Washington Nationals

On November 28, 2021, Ureña signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

. He was assigned to 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 ...

to begin the 2022 season. After appearing in 37 games and hitting .231/.268/.321 with 2 home runs and 21 RBI, Ureña was released on August 9, 2022.

York Revolution

On March 7, 2023, Ureña signed with the

York Revolution The York Revolution is an American professional minor-league baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent baseball league, independent "partner lea ...

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 103 games for York, Ureña hit .269/.315/.462 with 18 home runs and 64 RBI.

Dorados de Chihuahua

On February 14, 2024, Ureña signed with the

Dorados de Chihuahua Dorados de Chihuahua (English: Chihuahua Goldens) are a refounded baseball team from the city of Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Chihuahua. Recently, the Tuneros de San Luis moved to Chihuahua and took the Dorados namesake, which also brought the LMB (AAA ...

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 ...

. However, he was released prior to the start of the season on April 10.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ureña, Richard 1996 births Bluefield Blue Jays players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Blue Jays players Dunedin Blue Jays players Gigantes del Cibao players Gulf Coast Blue Jays players Rochester Red Wings players Lansing Lugnuts players Living people Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball shortstops New Hampshire Fisher Cats players People from San Francisco de Macorís Toronto Blue Jays players Vancouver Canadians players