Rabell Saúl Rivera (born December 7, 1977) is a Puerto Rican former

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 ...

. He 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 ...

and

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 ...

Career

Minnesota Twins

Rivera attended the

University of Mobile The University of Mobile is a private, Baptist university in Mobile, Alabama. It is affiliated with the Alabama Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention). History The university was founded in 1961 by the Alabama Baptist State under th ...

, and was drafted in the ninth round of the

1998 Major League Baseball draft The 1998 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1998. A total of 1445 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections ...

by the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

. He was assigned to the

Elizabethton Twins The Elizabethton Twins were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They were located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and were named for their major league affiliate. The team playe ...

after signing. He was promoted to the

Quad Cities River Bandits The Quad Cities River Bandits are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Their home games are played at Modern Woodmen Park (formerly John O'Donnell Stadium) in Davenport, Iowa, one ...

in 1999, where he would spend the season. In 2000, he began the season with the advanced Single-A

Fort Myers Miracle The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex a ...

before receiving a promotion to the Double-A

New Britain Rock Cats The New Britain Rock Cats were a minor league baseball team that competed in the Eastern League. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox for 12 years, the Minnesota Twins for 20 years and the Colorado Rockies for one. They playe ...

. He would spend the 2001 season with New Britain, pitching in 33 games for the club. He was added to the Twins roster in the offseason.

New York Mets

On November 20, 2001, Rivera was selected off waivers by 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 ...

. He began the 2002 season with the Double-A

Binghamton Mets The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club. The Rumble Ponies play in Mira ...

Montreal Expos

On July 16, 2002, the Mets sent Rivera to the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

as the

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

for the April trade of

Bruce Chen Bruce Kastulo Chen (born June 19, 1977), is a Panamanian former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Montreal Expos, Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astr ...

Dicky Gonzalez Dicky Angel Gonzalez Vallenilla (born December 21, 1978) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets and Tampa Bay Rays and in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Tokyo Yakult Swallo ...

, and Luis Figueroa to Montreal in exchange for

Scott Strickland Scott Michael Strickland (born April 26, 1976) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) relief pitcher who played for several teams between 1999 and 2010. Amateur career A native of Houston, Texas, Strickland attended the University of ...

Phil Seibel Philip Matthew Seibel (born January 28, 1979) is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. Biography Seibel attended the University of Texas, where he pitched for the Texas Longhorns baseball team from 1998 to 2000. He also pitched for ...

, and Matt Watson. He was assigned to the AA

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 ...

upon his acquisition. He began the 2004 season with Harrisburg.

Milwaukee Brewers

On June 7, 2004, the Expos traded Rivera to 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 ...

with

Peter Bergeron Peter Francis Bergeron (born November 9, 1977) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and current Major League Baseball (MLB) scout. Bergeron appeared in 308 MLB games, all of which were played with the Montreal Expos over five ...

for

Jason Childers Jason Lee Childers (born January 13, 1975) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He is the brother of Matt Childers. Career He appeared in only 5 games for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2006. Childers played for the Sultanes ...

and Jason Belcher. He was assigned to the Double-A

Huntsville Stars The Huntsville Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Huntsville, Alabama, from 1985 to 2014. They competed in the Southern League as the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics from 1985 to 1998 and Mil ...

. Rivera elected free agency on October 15, 2004.

Washington Nationals

On November 16, 2004, he signed with the

. He played for Harrisburg in 2005, playing in 40 total games for the team. Rivera made his MLB debut on May 25, , for the

against 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 that game, he got his first

hold Hold may refer to: Physical spaces * Hold (ship), interior cargo space * Baggage hold, cargo space on an airplane * Stronghold, a castle or other fortified place Arts, entertainment, and media * Hold (musical term), a pause, also called a Fermat ...

, pitching 2/3 of an inning. He

struck out 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 denote ...

one and walked one. He had been called up from Triple-A

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

on May 22, 2006. He finished his rookie season with a 3.43

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

. He struck out 41 and walked 32. In , he only allowed 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 ...

in 93 innings pitched. Rivera spent 2007 between the major league club and 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 ...

, pitching in 85 games for Washington. In 2008, played the entirety of the season with Washington, pitching in 76 games. In 2009, Rivera played in 30 games for 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 ...

and 30 for the major league club. On December 7, 2009, Rivera was released by the Nationals to make room on the 40-man roster for

Brian Bruney Brian Anthony Bruney (born February 17, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, and Chicago White Sox. He won the 200 ...

Cleveland Indians

Rivera signed a minor league contract with an invite to Spring training with 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 ...

on December 21, 2009. He began the season with the Triple-A Columbus Clippers.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On May 17, 2010, Rivera was traded to the

for cash considerations. He would play for the Triple-A

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, which opened in 2009. ...

, but also appear in 4 major league games for Arizona, pitching to a 22.09 ERA over 3.2 innings. He was released on July 26, 2010.

Second Stint with Indians

On August 21, 2010, Rivera re-signed with the

, and was assigned to Triple-A

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

the following day. He elected free agency on October 5, 2010.

Saraperos de Saltillo

On March 28, 2011, Rivera signed with the

Saraperos de Saltillo The Saraperos de Saltillo (English: Saltillo Serape Wearers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. Their home ballpark is the Estadio de Béisbol Francisco I. Madero in Saltillo, Coahuila. They have won three championships (198 ...

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 played in 12 games for Saltillo before being released on June 29, 2011.

Road Warriors

After his release, Rivera signed with the

Road Warriors The Road Warriors, also known as the Legion of Doom, were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Road Warrior Hawk (Michael Hegstrand) and Road Warrior Animal (Joseph Laurinaitis).. They performed under the name "The Road Warriors" in t ...

of the Atlantic League. He would finish out the 2011 season with the club, pitching to a 4.29 ERA over 28 games. He became a free agent after the season.

Sugar Land Skeeters

Rivera signed with the

Sugar Land Skeeters The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. They are located in Sugar Land, Texas, part of the Greater Houston metr ...

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 2012. He pitched to a 2.20 ERA over 18 games for Sugar Land, including 17 strikeouts. He became a free agent after the season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivera, Saul 1977 births Living people Arizona Diamondbacks players Atlantic League Road Warriors players Binghamton Mets players Columbus Clippers players Criollos de Caguas players Elizabethton Twins players Fort Myers Miracle players Gulf Coast Twins players Harrisburg Senators players Huntsville Stars players Indios de Mayagüez players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente pitchers Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Mexican League baseball pitchers Mobile Rams baseball players New Britain Rock Cats players New Orleans Zephyrs players Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Mexico Quad Cities River Bandits players Reno Aces players Saraperos de Saltillo players Sportspeople from San Juan, Puerto Rico Sugar Land Skeeters players Syracuse Chiefs players Washington Nationals players 2009 World Baseball Classic players