Yoslan Herrera (born April 28, 1981) is a Cuban 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 has also played 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 ...

and

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 ...

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).

Professional career

Pittsburgh Pirates

Herrera made his U.S. pitching debut after defecting from

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

in July 2005 and signing a Major League contract with the Pirates on December 18, 2006. He was rated by

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

as the Pirates' fourth best prospect entering the 2007 season. He was a member of the Pirates'

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 ...

during the '07 season though he spent the entire season 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 went 6–9 with a 4.69

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 ...

in 25 starts. In 128

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

for the Curve, allowing 151 hits and 38 walks, while

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

70 batters. Eastern League hitters posted a .296

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

against him, including a .315 mark by left-handed batters. In 2008 Herrera attended Major League

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

as a member of the Pirates' 40-man roster for the second consecutive season. He made 22 starts for Double-A Altoona, one 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 ...

and five in the Major Leagues with Pittsburgh. He was a member of the Curve's

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

roster for the second consecutive season. In 22 starts with Altoona he went 6–9 with a 3.46 ERA in a team-high 114 innings. Herrera was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for the week ending June 8 after his eight scoreless inning performance on June 6. He was promoted to Indianapolis for a spot start on June 27 against 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 ...

and earned the win in his Triple-A debut, scattering seven hits and allowing only two runs. He returned to Altoona on June 29 Herrera was recalled by Pittsburgh on July 12 and made his Major League debut that night. He pitched 4 innings, giving up six earned runs, and stuck out four. He earned his first major league win on July 24, shutting out 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 ...

through six innings. Hererra was optioned back to the Double-A Curve on August 4. Herrera split the 2009 season between the Double-A Curve and the Triple-A Indians. With the Curve he went 11–1 with a 3.23 ERA with 65 strikeouts, giving up five

home runs 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 97 innings pitched in 23 games, 15 starts. In four games with the Indians Herrera went 1–1 with a 2.30 ERA in 15 innings pitched. In November 2009, the Pirates released Herrera.

Minnesota Twins

On March 2, 2010, Herrera signed a minor league deal with 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 ...

. In May 2010, Herrera asked for and received his release.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Herrera signed a minor league deal with the

in December 2013.

References

External links