Shawn Michael Armstrong (born September 11, 1990) is an American

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 ...

for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

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). He has previously played in MLB for 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 ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

Early life

Armstrong attended West Craven High School in

Vanceboro, North Carolina Vanceboro is a town in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. Its population was 1,005 at the 2010 Census. Originally called Swift Creek, residents renamed the town for Zebulon B. Vance after he visited there during his 1876 campaign for go ...

. He was a member of the varsity baseball team for his entire high school career and participated in cross country for two seasons. 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 ...

selected Armstrong in the 33rd round of the

2008 MLB draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first rou ...

, but he did not sign. He then enrolled at

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...

(ECU), where he played

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 ...

for the ECU Pirates. He missed the 2009 season after having shoulder surgery, and finished his collegiate career with a 4-3

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 4.45

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).

Career

Cleveland Indians

The

selected Armstrong in the 18th round of the

2011 MLB draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the first ...

. In 2012, Armstrong pitched for the

Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and play their home games a ...

of the

Class A-Advanced 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 ...

. He was named a Carolina League All-Star. He ended the year with a 2.06 ERA. He missed the beginning of the 2013 with an injury, and had a 4.14 ERA on the season after he returned to health. In 2014, he pitched for the

Akron RubberDucks The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

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. He was named an Eastern League All-Star. After the 2014 season, the Indians added Armstrong 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 ...

. Armstrong pitched for 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 ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

in 2015, and was named to the

Triple-A All-Star Game The Triple-A All-Star Game was an annual baseball game held from 1988 to 2019 between professional players from the affiliated Triple-A leagues of Minor League Baseball. These leagues were the International League (IL) and Pacific Coast League ( ...

. Armstrong was called up to the major leagues for the first time on August 8, 2015. Armstrong made his major league debut the same night, pitching a scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts. He finished his rookie season with a 2.25 ERA across eight appearances. In 2016, Armstrong logged a 2.53 ERA with 7 strikeouts in 10 appearances for the Indians. In 2017, he pitched in 22 games for Cleveland, recording a 4.38 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 24.2 innings pitched.

Seattle Mariners

On December 13, 2017, the Indians traded Armstrong to the

for international bonus pool money. In 2018 with Seattle, Armstrong pitched to a neat 1.23 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 14.2 innings pitched. On March 18, 2019, Armstrong was placed on the disabled list with an oblique injury. Armstrong was designated for assignment on April 26 after struggling to a 14.73 ERA in 4 appearances to begin the year.

Baltimore Orioles

On April 28, 2019, Armstrong was claimed off waivers by the

. Armstrong recorded a 5.13 ERA in 51 appearances for the Orioles in 2019. In 2020, Armstrong pitched in 14 games for the Orioles, notching a 1.80 ERA and 14 strikeouts to go along with a 2-0 record over 15.0 innings pitched. After struggling to an 8.55 ERA in 20 appearances in 2021, Armstrong was designated for assignment by the Orioles on June 4, 2021. He was outrighted to the Triple-A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

on June 11.

Tampa Bay Rays

On July 30, 2021, Armstrong was traded to the

in exchange for cash considerations. On August 17, the Rays selected Armstrong's contract. Armstrong made 11 appearances for the Rays, posting a 4.50 ERA with 22 strikeouts. Armstrong was designated for assignment by the Rays on September 12. On October 8, Armstrong elected free agency.

Miami Marlins

On March 13, 2022, Armstrong signed a minor league contract with the

. On April 7, the Marlins selected Armstrong's contract, adding him to their opening day roster. He was designated for assignment on May 2, 2022, then elected free agency two days later.

Tampa Bay Rays (second stint)

On May 10, 2022, Armstrong signed a minor league deal with the

. He was selected to the major league roster on May 31.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Shawn 1990 births Living people Sportspeople from New Bern, North Carolina Baseball players from North Carolina Major League Baseball pitchers Cleveland Indians players Seattle Mariners players Baltimore Orioles players Tampa Bay Rays players Miami Marlins players East Carolina Pirates baseball players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Lake County Captains players Carolina Mudcats players Akron Aeros players Scottsdale Scorpions players Arizona League Indians players Surprise Saguaros players Akron RubberDucks players Columbus Clippers players Tacoma Rainiers players Norfolk Tides players Durham Bulls players