Tucupita José Marcano (born September 16, 1999) is a Venezuelan

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

for 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 ...

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

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 ...

Career

San Diego Padres

On July 2, 2016, Marcano signed with the

as an international free agent. Marcano made his professional debut in 2017 with the

Dominican Summer League Padres The Dominican Summer League Padres or DSL Padres are a Rookie League affiliate of the San Diego Padres based in the Dominican Republic. They play in the Dominican Summer League. As an independent affiliate, they have been in existence since 1997. ...

, slashing .206/.337/.353 in 49 games. In 2018, Marcano split the season between the

AZL Padres The Arizona Complex League Padres are a Rookie-level affiliate of the San Diego Padres, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona, which is also the ...

and the Low-A

Tri-City Dust Devils The Tri-City Dust Devils are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Pasco, Washington. The Dust Devils are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Los Angeles Angels. Tri-City plays their home gam ...

, accumulating a .366/.450/.438 slash line with 1 home run and 26 RBI. The following season, Marcano played with the Single-A

Fort Wayne TinCaps The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and play their home games at Parkview Field. They won their lone Midwest Le ...

, hitting .270/.323/.337 with 2 home runs and 45 RBI in 111 games with the team. Marcano did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The Padres added him to their 40-man roster after the 2020 season. On April 1, 2021, Marcano made his MLB debut as a pinch hitter for

Keone Kela Keone Cole Kela (born April 16, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Pittsburgh Pirates and San ...

, and drew a walk against

Stefan Crichton Stefan Brook Crichton ( ; born February 29, 1992) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in MLB for the Baltimore Orioles and Arizona Diamondbacks. Career Crichton attended Cinco Ranch High School in Katy, Texas, and playe ...

of 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 ...

. On April 6, Marcano collected his first major league hit, a single off of

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

reliever

Wandy Peralta Wandy Luis Peralta Dominguez (born July 27, 1991) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants. Peralta s ...

. After going 2-for-12 with an RBI in 10 games for the Padres, Marcano was optioned off the roster and assigned to the Triple-A

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in El Paso, Texas, and play their home games at Southwest University ...

to begin the minor league season.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On July 26, 2021, Marcano was traded to the

along with Jack Suwinski and Michell Miliano in exchange for

Adam Frazier Adam Timothy Frazier (born December 14, 1991) is an American professional baseball second baseman and outfielder who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres and Seattle Ma ...

. Marcano finished the season with the Triple-A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

, then began the 2022 campaign with the Double-A

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of the ...

. He appeared in one game in April against 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 ...

as a pinch hitter, and was recalled to the major leagues on May 27, 2022. He hit his first MLB home run off of

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 ...

pitcher

Walker Buehler Walker Anthony Buehler (born July 28, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Vanderbilt Commodores and was a member of their 2014 College W ...

on May 30. Marcano was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis to begin the 2023 season. Playing in 75 games for Pittsburgh, he hit .233/.276/.356 with 3 home runs and 18 RBI. On July 25, 2023, Marcano was placed on the 60–day injured list with a right knee ligament injury. On August 3, it was confirmed that Marcano had suffered a

torn ACL An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

and would require surgery.

San Diego Padres (second stint)

On November 2, 2023, Marcano was claimed off waivers by the Padres.

Personal life

Tucupita Marcano was named after his birthplace, the Venezuelan city of

Tucupita Tucupita () is the capital city of the Venezuelan state of Delta Amacuro. Geography Delta Amacuro consists almost entirely of the swampy Orinoco River delta. Tucupita is hot and humid, and lies well into the delta on the Caño Manamo river (o ...

. Tucupita is also his father Raul's nickname.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcano, Tucupita 1999 births Living people Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Major League Baseball infielders San Diego Padres players Pittsburgh Pirates players Dominican Summer League Padres players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Arizona League Padres players Tri-City Dust Devils players Fort Wayne TinCaps players El Paso Chihuahuas players People from Tucupita Altoona Curve players Indianapolis Indians players