Samuel Solís (born August 10, 1988) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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who is a free agent. He previously played in

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(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 ...

and for the

Yokohama DeNA BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japan, Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its c ...

of the

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB).

Career

High school and college

Solís attended

Agua Fria High School Agua Fria High School is a public high school in Avondale, Arizona, United States. Operated by the Agua Fria Union High School District, it is the first school built in the district and its only school until the establishment of Millennium H ...

Avondale, Arizona Avondale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 89,334, up from 76,238 in 2010 and 35,883 in 2000. Avondale, incorporated in 1946, has experienced rapid ...

. Playing for the school's baseball team, he had a 7–3

win–loss record 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 ...

and a 1.77

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) with 117

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s and 29 walks with 25 hits allowed in

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

in his sophomore year. He shared West Valley High School Baseball Player of the Year honors with

Kole Calhoun Kole Alan Calhoun (born October 14, 1987) is an American professional baseball right fielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels, Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers. Calhoun played co ...

. In his junior year, he had a 4–4 record and a 1.93 ERA, and recorded 87 strikeouts with 23 walks and 45 hits in innings. While in his junior year, he competed in the

American Amateur Baseball Congress The American Amateur Baseball Congress (AABC) is an amateur baseball organization in the United States for players from sub-teens through adults.

and won the 2006 Connie Mack World Series. As a senior, Solís had an 8–2 record, a 2.40 ERA, and 98 strikeouts to 43 hits and 23 walks in innings. He was again named West Valley's High School Baseball Co-Player of the Year, along with Cody Cress. Solís finished his high school career with a 25–8 win–loss record and 398 strikeouts, the second-most in Arizona Class 4A history. Solis was also a dual sport athlete playing the varsity football team alongside

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defensive end

Everson Griffen Everson Griffen (born December 22, 1987) is an American football defensive end who is a free agent. A graduate of Agua Fria High School, Griffen attended and played college football at USC. He was selected by the Vikings in the fourth round o ...

. ''

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'' ranked Solís as the 53rd-best prospect available in the 2007 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft. 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 f ...

selected Solís in the 18th round of the draft, but he did not sign in order to play

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 ...

. Solís attended the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Schoo ...

, where he played for the

San Diego Toreros baseball The San Diego Toreros baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball program of the University of San Diego, located in San Diego, California, United States. The program has been a member of the NCAA Division I West Coast Conference sinc ...

team. As a freshman, Solís had a 3–1 record and a 3.83

(ERA) in 17 games pitched, which included seven games started. He pitched for the

Chatham A's The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in t ...

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 ...

in the summer of 2008, where he pitched largely out of the rotation and was named a league all-star. Expected to pitch more in 2009 due to San Diego teammate

Brian Matusz Brian Robert Matusz ( ; born February 11, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago Cubs. College Matusz attended the University of San Diego, wh ...

signing a professional contract, Solís instead injured his back while

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift Weight training#Equipment, weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various t ...

. He returned as a

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sophomore in 2010, and had a 9–2 record and a 3.42 ERA with 92 strikeouts and 82 hits allowed in 92

. He was named All-

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...

Washington Nationals

The

selected Solís in the second round, with the 51st overall selection of the

2010 MLB Draft The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pic ...

, and Solís received a $1 million

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

to sign with Washington. Pitching for the

Scottsdale Scorpions The Scottsdale Scorpions are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Scottsdale, Arizona, at Scottsdale Stadium, which is also the spring training facility of the San Francisco Gia ...

of 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 fill ...

(AFL) after the 2010 regular season, Solís won the AFL championship. He again pitched in the AFL after the 2011 regular season, when he damaged the

ulnar collateral ligament Ulnar collateral ligament (or UCL), may refer to: * Ulnar carpal collateral ligament * Ulnar collateral ligament of elbow joint The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) or internal lateral ligament is a thick triangular ligament at the medial aspec ...

(UCL) in his elbow. Before the 2012 season,

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rated Solís as the 86th-best prospect in baseball. He had

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

to repair the UCL in March 2012 and missed the 2012 season. He returned to Potomac in 2013, and was assigned to the AFL after the 2013 season. After the 2013 season, the Nationals added Solís to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

. He was shut down in June 2014 with discomfort in his elbow after making one start for 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

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. Solís began the 2015 season with Harrisburg. He was promoted to the major leagues on April 29, and made his major league debut the next day. Solís started the 2016 season at Triple-A Syracuse, but he was called up April 27 after reliever

Matt Belisle Matthew Thomas Belisle (beh-LYLE; born June 6, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals, Minnesota T ...

was injured and placed on the disabled list. Solís himself spent time on the disabled list in 2016, briefly being listed with knee soreness on July 17 and then being sidelined with left shoulder inflammation from August 17 to September 26. Solís was regarded as having what an ''

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'' writer called "something of a breakout season" in 2016, pitching to a 2.41 ERA in 41 innings and proving equally effective against hitters on both sides of the plate. He appeared in all five games of the 2016 National League Division Series 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 ...

. Injuries once again plagued Solís in the Nationals' 2017 season. Although he started the year in the major league bullpen, he landed on the disabled list on April 19 with left elbow inflammation and struggled after being activated July 1 after an extended rehabilitation stint in the minor leagues. Solís was optioned back to Syracuse over the All-Star Break after several poor performances in relief. During the 2018 season, Solís appeared in a career-high 56 games for the Nationals, primarily as a situational left-handed pitcher against left-handed batters. He had difficulty against left-handed batters during the year; they had a .993

on-base plus slugging On-base plus slugging (OPS) is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player both to get on base and to hit for power, two important offensive skills, are ...

percentage in 88 match-ups against him, hitting five home runs, two doubles, and two triples. He allowed 28 runs in 39 innings pitched with 18 walks and 44 strikeouts and finished the season with a record of 1–2 and a career-worst 6.41 ERA. Solís was scheduled to reach non-tender free agency on November 30, 2018, but the Nationals avoided that by signing him to a one-year deal that day, partly because his success against left-handed batters prior to 2018 suggested that he might again succeed against them in the future. He made four appearances for the Nationals during spring training in 2019, but the Nationals concluded that he would not make the 2019 team and unconditionally released him on March 9, 2019. At the time of his release he had a career ERA of 4.51 with 136 strikeouts and 56 walks in innings pitched, a .701 OPS against right-handed hitters, and a .759 OPS against left-handed batters.

San Diego Padres

On March 11, 2019, Solis signed a minor league deal with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

. He was released on May 30, 2019.

Yokohama DeNA BayStars

On May 31, 2019, Solis signed with

of the

(NPB). On October 16, 2019, BayStars announced that team will not sign Solís for next season. On December 2, 2019, he became a free agent.

Acereros de Monclova

On April 9, 2021, Solís signed with the

Acereros de Monclova The Acereros de Monclova (English: Monclova Steelers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico. Their home ballpark is Estadio de Béisbol Monclova, which has a capacity of 11,000 people. The Acere ...

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 was on the

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roster for the

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(in July 2021), but a positive

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result disqualified him. He became a free agent following the 2021 season.

Personal life

Solís is of both

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and Mexican descent. He has three sisters and a brother, with two of his siblings having been adopted. His family opened an orphanage in

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for children who lost their parents to the

AIDS epidemic The global epidemic of HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) began in 1981, and is an ongoing worldwide public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of 2021, HIV/AI ...

when he was in high school.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solís, Sammy 1988 births Living people Acereros de Monclova players American baseball players of Mexican descent American expatriate baseball players in Japan American people of Irish descent Baseball players from Arizona Baseball players from Minneapolis Chatham Anglers players El Paso Chihuahuas players Gulf Coast Nationals players Hagerstown Suns players Harrisburg Senators players Major League Baseball pitchers Mesa Solar Sox players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers People from Avondale, Arizona Potomac Nationals players San Diego Toreros baseball players Scottsdale Scorpions players Sportspeople from the Phoenix metropolitan area Syracuse Chiefs players Washington Nationals players Yokohama DeNA BayStars players