Wilmer Font Gómez (born May 24, 1990) is a Venezuelan

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 ...

in 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 ...

organization. He has previously 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

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 ...

, Texas Rangers,

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 ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

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 ...

, and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

and in the

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ko, 한국야구위원회) is the governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League ( ko, KBO 리그) and KBO ...

for the

SSG Landers SSG Landers () are a South Korean professional baseball team. The team was originally established as the SK Wyverns but was renamed as the SSG Landers in 2021 after Shinsegae acquired the team from SK Group. They are a member of the KBO League. B ...

Professional athletic career

Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers signed Font as an international

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on July 11, 2006. He began his professional career in 2007, playing for the

Arizona League Rangers The Arizona Complex League Rangers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Texas Rangers, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is compose ...

. That year, he went 2–3 with a 4.53 ERA in 14 games (10 starts), striking out 61 batters in innings. In 2008, he again pitched for the AZL Rangers, going 1–0 with a 10.38 ERA in three starts, striking out six batters in innings (that year he allowed only one hit and one walk, but he hit three batters). In 2009, Font went 8–3 with a 3.49 ERA in 29 games (24 starts), striking out 105 batters in innings for the

Hickory Crawdads The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League (SAL) and the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Hickory, North Carolina, and play their home games at L. P. Frans Stadium, which opened i ...

. He split 2010 between the Crawdads and

Bakersfield Blaze The Bakersfield Blaze were a minor league baseball team in Bakersfield, California. They played in the Class A – Advanced California League. They played their home games at Sam Lynn Ballpark. Opened in 1941, the stadium is well known for facing ...

, going 5–3 with a 4.35 ERA in 16 starts, striking out 85 batters in innings. His 2010 season ended early when he came down with an elbow injury on July 7 which led to him undergoing

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 ...

after the season. He missed the entire 2011 season while recovering from the surgery. He returned in 2012 and pitched in 33 games (19 starts) primarily with the

Myrtle Beach Pelicans The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games are played at TicketReturn.com Field, which open ...

and

Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Frisco, Texas, and are nam ...

. He had a 4.03 ERA. Font made his major league debut for the Rangers on September 18, 2012, pitching one scoreless inning of relief against the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

. He pitched two innings over three games for the Rangers, allowing two earned runs and striking out one batter. His first MLB strikeout was against

Mike Trout Michael Nelson Trout (born August 7, 1991) is an American professional baseball center fielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). Trout is a ten-time MLB All-Star, three-time American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) ...

of the Angels on September 28. Font spent most of the 2013 season in the minors, pitching in 26 games for Frisco and 16 for the

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

. In 42 games, he had a 1.90 ERA. He also pitched in two games in the majors for the Rangers in July, and did not allow a run in innings. He spent the entire 2014 season with Frisco and was 1–2 with a 3.48 ERA in 29 games. Font was designated for assignment on October 2, 2014.

Ottawa Champions

Font signed with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

in the offseason, but was released on March 31, 2015. He then signed with the

Ottawa Champions The Ottawa Champions Baseball Club (french: link=no, Les Champions d'Ottawa) were a professional baseball team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The Champions made their debut as a member of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseb ...

of the

Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, commonly known as the Can-Am League, was a professional, independent baseball league with teams in the Northeast United States and Eastern Canada, founded in 2005 as a reorganization of ...

for the 2015 season. He made 20 starts for the Champions and was 10–4 with a 4.09 ERA. He returned to Ottawa to start the 2016 season and began 2–2 with a 4.18 ERA in 10 games (9 starts).

Toronto Blue Jays

On July 4, 2016, Font's contract with the Ottawa Champions was purchased by the

. He pitched in 12 games (11 starts) in the Blue Jays farm system with the

New Hampshire Fisher Cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major league club. During the team's first seas ...

and

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

and was 4–4 with a 3.68 ERA.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Font signed a minor league contract with the

in December 2016. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Dodgers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Bal ...

to begin the season and was selected as the starting pitcher for the

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

mid-season all-star team. Font started 25 games for Oklahoma City in 2017 and was 10–8 with a 3.42 ERA and 178 strikeouts, setting a new team franchise record and winning him the

Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year Award The Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year Award is an annual award given to the best pitcher in Minor League Baseball's Pacific Coast League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers. Broadcasters, Minor League B ...

. Font was promoted to the majors with the Dodgers on September 2. He appeared in just three games for the Dodgers, allowing seven runs in just innings of work with three strikeouts and four walks. He began 2018 in the Dodgers bullpen and allowed 13 runs and 18 hits in innings over six games, including picking up the loss in two extra inning games. On April 23, he was designated for assignment and removed from the active roster.

Oakland Athletics

On April 25, 2018, the Dodgers traded Font to the

in exchange for minor leaguer Logan Salow. He posted an ERA of 14.85 in 4 appearances before being designated for assignment on May 23, 2018.

Tampa Bay Rays

On May 25, 2018, the Athletics traded Font to the

in exchange for minor league pitcher Peter Bayer. Font found immediate success with the Rays posting a 1.67 ERA in 9 games (4 starts) over 27 innings before being placed on the 60-day disabled list with a right lat strain.

New York Mets

On May 6, 2019, the Rays traded Font to the

for cash considerations or a

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 ...

. On July 12, Font was designated for assignment. In 15 appearances (3 starts), Font was 1–2 with 24 strikeouts in 31 innings.

Toronto Blue Jays (second stint)

On July 17, 2019, Font was traded to the

in exchange for cash considerations. Font was used as an

opener Opener, Open'er or Openers may refer to: * ''Opener'' (album), an album by 8mm * Opener (baseball), a baseball strategy to use a relief pitcher to start a game * Open'er Festival, a contemporary music festival held in Gdynia, Poland * Bottle opene ...

upon being acquired from the Mets. He appeared in 23 games (14 starts), striking out 53 in innings. With the 2020 Toronto Blue Jays, Font appeared in 21 games, compiling a 1–3 record with 9.92 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 16.1 innings pitched. On September 24, 2020, Font was designated for assignment. He was outrighted on September 28. Font rejected the outright assignment and elected free agency the next day.

SSG Landers

On October 31, 2020, Font signed a one-year, $1 million deal with the

SK Wyverns SSG Landers () are a South Korean professional baseball team. The team was originally established as the SK Wyverns but was renamed as the SSG Landers in 2021 after Shinsegae acquired the team from SK Group. They are a member of the KBO League. B ...

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 ...

. The Wyverns rebranded as the

in the offseason. Font posted an 8–5 record with a 3.46 ERA and 157 strikeouts over 25 starts. On December 17, 2021. Font re-signed with the Landers for the 2022 season on a one-year, $1.5 million deal. In his season debut for the Landers, Font tossed 9.0 perfect innings against 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 ...

, but was not credited with a perfect game as he was replaced by reliever Kim Taek-hyeong in the bottom of the 10th inning in the 4-0 victory. He became a

following the 2022 season.

San Diego Padres

On January 5, 2023, Font signed a minor league contract with the

organization.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Font, Wilmer 1990 births Living people Arizona League Rangers players Bakersfield Blaze players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Frisco RoughRiders players Hickory Crawdads players Leones del Caracas players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Myrtle Beach Pelicans players New Hampshire Fisher Cats players New York Mets players Oakland Athletics players Oklahoma City Dodgers players Ottawa Champions players People from La Guaira Round Rock Express players Tampa Bay Rays players Texas Rangers players Toronto Blue Jays players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in South Korea Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States