Richard Jordan Palacios (born May 16, 1997) is an American professional baseball outfielder and second baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Cleveland Guardians and St. Louis Cardinals.

Amateur career

Palacios attended

Berkeley Carroll School The Berkeley Carroll School is a coed independent college prep school in New York City. Located in Park Slope, Brooklyn, it has a Lower School (preK – grade 4), Middle School (grades 5–8) and Upper School (grades 9–12). History The ...

in New York City and played college baseball at Towson University. In 2017, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the Bourne Braves of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the third round of the

2018 Major League Baseball draft The 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In a ...

Professional career

Cleveland Indians / Guardians

Palacios made his professional debut in 2018 with the Arizona League Indians, Mahoning Valley Scrappers and Lake County Captains, batting .361 with six home runs and thirty runs batted in over 45 games. He did not play in 2019 due to a torn labrum or in 2020 because the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He started 2021 with the Akron RubberDucks before being promoted to the

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 ...

. Over 103 games between the two teams, he slashed .297/.404/.471 with seven home runs, 48 runs batted in, 33 doubles, and twenty stolen bases. The newly-named Cleveland Guardians selected Palacios to their 40-man roster on November 19, 2021. After beginning the 2022 season with the Triple-A

, Palacios was recalled by the Guardians on April 25, 2022, and made his major league debut that same day, starting in left field. He collected his first career hit in the same game, a single off of Los Angeles Angels starter Michael Lorenzen. He played in 54 games during his rookie campaign, hitting .232/.293/.286 with no home runs and 10 RBI. Palacios was optioned to Triple-A Columbus to begin the 2023 season. In 56 games with Columbus, Palacios batted .217/.351/.318 with 3 home runs, 30 RBI, and 6 stolen bases. On June 11, 2023, Palacios was designated for assignment by the Guardians after Cody Morris was activated off of the injured list.

St. Louis Cardinals

On June 16, 2023, Palacios was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for cash considerations. In 32 games for the Cardinals, he batted .258/.307/.516 with 6 home runs and 16 RBI.

Tampa Bay Rays

On January 5, 2024, the Cardinals traded Palacios to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for

Andrew Kittredge Andrew Michael Kittredge (born March 17, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Amateur career Kittredge attended Ferris High School in Spokane, Washington. He was drafted out of ...

International career

On the international level, Palacios is eligible to represent the Netherlands and

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

(through his Curaçaoan mother), Puerto Rico (through his father), and the United States (his birthplace). He was selected to the Dutch national team at the

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), an international professional baseball tournament, is set to be the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It was originally set for 2021 (as per tradition to hold the event every four years), but wa ...

. He appeared in a single game, going hitless in three at-bats in a 9–5 loss against Taiwan.

Personal life

His brother, Josh Palacios, plays in MLB for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

organization, and his uncle,

Rey Palacios Robert Rey Palacios (born November 8, 1962) is an American former professional baseball catcher who played for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Career Palacios attended Kingsborough Community College in his hometown of Brook ...

, previously played in MLB. Palacios' father is of Puerto Rican descent, and his mother is from

, and thus he was eligible to play for the Netherlands national baseball team and was selected to play for them in the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palacios, Richie 1997 births Living people Akron RubberDucks players American people of Curaçao descent American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent Arizona League Indians players Baseball players from Brooklyn Berkeley Carroll School alumni Bourne Braves players Cleveland Guardians players Columbus Clippers players Dutch people of Curaçao descent Dutch people of Puerto Rican descent Lake County Captains players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball outfielders Memphis Redbirds players Scottsdale Scorpions players St. Louis Cardinals players Tampa Bay Rays players Towson Tigers baseball players 2023 World Baseball Classic players