Zachary David Phillips (born September 21, 1986) is a Mexican-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

Rieleros de Aguascalientes The Rieleros de Aguascalientes (English: Aguascalientes Railroaders) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Aguascalientes, Mexico. History Baseball arrived in Aguascalientes in hand with the railroad at the beginning o ...

of the

Mexican Baseball League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. He was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 23rd round in 2005, and has 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

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) for the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda ...

Career

Texas Rangers

He was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 23rd round of the 2005 amateur draft, being signed by scout

Tim Fortugno Timothy Shawn Fortugno (born April 11, 1962) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher and current scout, working for the New York Mets as of November 2015. Career He graduated in 1980 from Uxbridge High School (Uxbridge, Massachusetts). Fortug ...

. Phillips began his professional career in 2005, playing for the

AZL 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 composed ...

(14 games) and

Clinton LumberKings The Clinton LumberKings are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Clinton, Iowa, and play their home games at NelsonCorp Field. From 1956 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest Lea ...

(two games), going a combined 1-3 with a 4.14 ERA in 16 games (11 starts). In innings, he struck out 77 batters. He spent all of 2006 with the LumberKings, going 5-23 with a 5.96 ERA in 28 starts. The following year, he played for the Clinton again and went 11-7 with a 2.91 ERA in 27 starts, striking out 157 batters in innings of work. In 2008, he went 8-9 with a 5.54 ERA in 28 starts for the

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 ...

. For the 2009 season, Phillips converted to relief pitching and went a combined 2-3 with a 1.39 ERA in 36 combined games for the Blaze (16 games) 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 ...

(20 games). He began the 2010 season with the RoughRiders but was later promoted to the

Oklahoma City RedHawks Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. On July 14, 2011, the Texas Rangers designated Phillips for assignment, giving them 10 days to trade, release, or outright him to the minors.

Baltimore Orioles

On July 19, 2011, he was traded to the

for minor league infielder Nick Green and cash. He made his Major League debut for the Orioles on August 31, 2011, against the

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 ...

. He appeared in 10 games in 2011, with a 1.13 ERA in 8 innings pitched. On November 4, 2012, Phillips elected free agency after refusing his outright assignment 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 ...

Miami Marlins

Phillips signed a minor league deal with the

before the 2013 season. After not making the team, he was assigned to the Triple-A

New Orleans Zephyrs New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, where he spent most of the season. In 50 games with the Zephyrs, he went 4-2 with a 2.44 ERA and a save, striking out 74 in 59 innings. On September 1, he was called up by the Marlins. Phillips appeared in 3 games with Miami, where he went 0-1 while giving up 1 run in 1.2 innings. He was outrighted off the roster on October 7, 2013, and elected to become a free agent.

Hiroshima Toyo Carp

On October 28, 2013, Phillips signed a one-year deal with the

of Nippon Professional Baseball, including a signing bonus of $154k. In nine relief appearances for Hiroshima in 2014, Phillips went 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA.

Chicago White Sox

On December 15, 2014, he signed a minor league contract with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

. On December 17, 2014, he was assigned to AAA

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

. He was outrighted and elected free agency on March 18, 2016.

Return to Baltimore

Phillips signed a one-year contract with the Baltimore Orioles on March 23, 2016. On April 1, he was outrighted to Triple-A.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The

acquired Phillips from Baltimore on August 31, 2016, in exchange for left-handed pitcher

Kyle Lobstein Kyle Eric Lobstein (born August 12, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Detroit Tigers in 2014, and ...

. He was sent to 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 ...

. He was brought up to the Pirates on September 13. He was outrighted on November 2, 2016.

St. Louis Cardinals

On November 18, 2016, Phillips signed a minor league deal with the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

. Phillips was also invited to major league spring training. He was released on June 15, 2017.

Acereros de Monclova

On June 24, 2017, Phillips signed with the

Acereros de Monclova The Acereros de Monclova (English: Monclova Steelers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico. Their home ballpark is Estadio de Béisbol Monclova, which has a capacity of 11,000 people. The Acere ...

of the

. In 2018, he was naturalized as a Mexican and no longer occupied a foreign spot in the Mexican Baseball League. On February 26, 2019, He was selected

Mexico national baseball team The Mexico national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de México'') is the baseball team that represents Mexico in international tournaments. It is currently the 4th-ranked baseball team in the world. Roster Results and fixtures ...

at 2019 exhibition games against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Phillips did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Mexican 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 ...

Rieleros de Aguascalientes

On July 13, 2022, Phillips was loaned to the

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

for the remainder of the 2022 season. On September 23, 2022, the Acereros officially traded Phillips to the Rieleros, making the loan permanent.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Zach 1986 births Living people Acereros de Monclova players American emigrants to Mexico American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Arizona League Rangers players Bakersfield Blaze players Baseball players from Sacramento, California Baltimore Orioles players Charlotte Knights players Clinton LumberKings players Frisco RoughRiders players Hiroshima Toyo Carp players Indianapolis Indians players Leones de Ponce players Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Redbirds players Mexican baseball players Mexican League baseball pitchers Miami Marlins players New Orleans Zephyrs players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Norfolk Tides players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Pittsburgh Pirates players Round Rock Express players Sacramento City Panthers baseball players Tomateros de Culiacán players