Taylor Browning Widener (born October 24, 1994) 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

NC Dinos The NC Dinos ( ko, NC 다이노스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Changwon. They are a member of the KBO League. Since 2019, their home stadium is Changwon NC Park. NC Dinos are owned by video game developer NCSoft Corpo ...

of the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

. He pitched 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), ...

for 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 ...

from 2020 to 2022.

Career

Amateur career

Widener attended South Aiken High School in

Aiken, South Carolina Aiken is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Aiken County, in western South Carolina. It is one of the two largest cities of the Central Savannah River Area. Founded in 1835, Aiken was named after William Aiken, the president of the Sout ...

and 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 ...

at the University of South Carolina. He was both a starter and relief pitcher at South Carolina. After his junior season, he was drafted by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

in the 12th round of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...

New York Yankees

Widener made his professional debut with the

Staten Island Yankees The Staten Island Yankees were a minor league baseball team located in the New York City borough of Staten Island from 1999 to 2020. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers", the Yankees were the Class A Short Season affiliate of the New York Yankees and pla ...

and was promoted to the

Charleston RiverDogs The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. Hi ...

after not allowing a run over innings with Staten Island. He finished 2016 with a combined 3–0 record and a 0.47 ERA in innings pitched between both clubs. Widener spent 2017 with the

Tampa Yankees Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

where he posted a 7–8 record with a 3.39 ERA in 27 starts.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On February 18, 2018, the Yankees sent Widener to the

in a three-team trade, in which the Yankees acquired

Brandon Drury Brandon Shane Drury (born August 21, 1992) is an American professional baseball utility player for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue ...

from the Diamondbacks, the Diamondbacks acquired

Steven Souza Steven Jeffrey Souza Jr. (born April 24, 1989) is an American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Nationals, Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodg ...

from 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 ...

, and the Rays acquired Nick Solak from the Yankees and

Anthony Banda Frank Anthony Banda (born August 10, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Washington Nationals organization. He played college baseball for San Jacinto College. The Milwaukee Brewers selected Banda in the tenth round of the 2 ...

and two PTBNL ( Colin Poche and

Sam McWilliams Samuel Rutherford McWilliams (born September 4, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Chicago Cubs organization. He spent time on the 40-man roster of the New York Mets and San Diego Padres, and was a Rule 5 pick by the Kan ...

) from the Diamondbacks. Widener spent 2018 with the

Jackson Generals The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (1964–2020), Southern League (SL) as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliat ...

, pitching to a 5–8 record with a 2.75 ERA in 26 games (25 starts). He spent 2019 with 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. ...

, going 6–7 with an 8.10 ERA over 23 starts, striking out 109 over 100 innings. Widener was added to the Diamondbacks 40–man roster following the 2019 season. Widener made his major league debut on July 25, 2020, against 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 ...

, pitching scoreless innings. On the season, he was 0-1 in 12 games with 22 strikeouts in 20 innings, he also induced 12 walks. In 2021, Widener made 23 appearances (13 starts) for Arizona, posting a 4.35 ERA with 73 strikeouts in innings pitched. In 2022, Widener pitched in 14 games with the big league club, recording a 3.63 ERA with 14 strikeouts in innings pitched. He was designated for assignment on December 23, 2022. On January 5, 2023, Widener was sent outright to Triple-A Reno.

NC Dinos

On January 31, 2023, Widener signed a one-year contract worth $743,000 with the

of the

References

External links

South Carolina Gamecocks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Widener, Taylor 1994 births Living people Sportspeople from Aiken, South Carolina Baseball players from South Carolina Major League Baseball pitchers Arizona Diamondbacks players South Carolina Gamecocks baseball players Staten Island Yankees players Charleston RiverDogs players Tampa Yankees players Jackson Generals (Southern League) players Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks players Hillsboro Hops players Reno Aces players