Kevin Jeffrey Plawecki (; born February 26, 1991) is an American professional baseball catcher in the San Diego Padres organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, and Texas Rangers. Plawecki starred in baseball for Westfield High School in Indiana. He then attended Purdue University, where he played college baseball for the Boilermakers, was named an All-American in 2012, and won the

Big Ten Conference Baseball Player of the Year The Big Ten Conference Player of the Year is a baseball award given to the Big Ten Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1982 season, with both pitchers and position players eligible. After the 1994 season, ...

in 2012. The Mets selected him with the 35th overall pick in the

2012 MLB draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto R ...

Amateur career

Plawecki was born in Hinsdale, Illinois, on February 26, 1991, to Jeff and Lynne Plawecki. He attended Westfield High School in Westfield, Indiana, where he played for the school's baseball team. He was named an All-State Class 4A honorable mention at catcher in his senior year. He was not selected in the MLB draft following his senior year of high school. He enrolled at Purdue University, to play college baseball for the Purdue Boilermakers baseball team. As a freshman at Purdue University in 2010, Plawecki had a .343 batting average, a .384

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

(OBP), and a .529 SLG, with eight home runs. He was named a freshman All-American by Louisville Slugger and the Big Ten Conference (Big Ten) All-Freshman of the Team. Following his freshman season at Purdue, Plawecki played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the

Richmond RiverRats The Richmond RiverRats were a collegiate summer baseball team based in Richmond, Indiana. They were a member of the summer collegiate Prospect League from their founding in 2009 until their last season in 2015. The RiverRats played at the 1,787 ...

of the

Prospect League The Prospect League is a collegiate summer baseball league comprising teams of college players from North America and beyond. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. So as to maintain their colleg ...

, where he batted 65-for-211 (.308) with fifteen doubles and 27 RBIs. As a sophomore in 2011, Plawecki batted .341 with a .436 SLG, 2 home runs, and 39 RBIs. He was named first team All-Big Ten. That summer, Plawecki played for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

and was named a league all-star. In the 2012 season as a junior, Plawecki hit .359 batting average, a .445

(OBP), and a .578 SLG, with seven home runs. Plawecki was named the Most Outstanding Player of the

2012 Big Ten Conference baseball tournament The 2012 Big Ten Conference baseball tournament was held at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio, from May 23 through 26. The top six teams from the regular season participate in the double-elimination tournament to determine the league champion. ...

and 2012

. He was a semifinalist for the

Johnny Bench Award The Buster Posey Award, formerly known as the Johnny Bench Award, was created in 2000 to honor college baseball's top catcher in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The award is administered by the Greater Wichita Area Sp ...

in 2011 and one of its three finalists in 2012.

Professional career

New York Mets

The New York Mets selected Plawecki in the first round, with the 35th overall selection, in the

2012 Major League Baseball draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto R ...

. In 2013, he played for the Savannah Sand Gnats of the Single-A South Atlantic League. He was promoted to the

St. Lucie Mets The St. Lucie Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and play their home games at Clover Park. The Mets have been members ...

of the High-A

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

, and to the Binghamton Mets of the Double-A Eastern League for the Eastern League playoffs. In 2014, the Mets invited Plawecki to

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 ...

. He started the 2014 season with the Binghamton Mets, where he hit .326 with six home runs and 43 RBIs in 224 at-bats. Plawecki was selected to play for the U.S. Team in the 2014

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League ...

, along with

Noah Syndergaard Noah Seth Syndergaard (born August 29, 1992), nicknamed "Thor", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the New York Mets, Los Angeles Angels an ...

. After batting .326 for Binghamton, the Mets promoted Plawecki to the Las Vegas 51s of the Triple-A

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 ...

on June 24. The Mets invited Plawecki to spring training in 2015, and reassigned him to minor league camp so that he could start the 2015 season with Las Vegas. After Travis d'Arnaud went on the disabled list with a broken hand on April 19, 2015, the Mets announced they would promote Plawecki to the major leagues. Plawecki made his Major League debut on April 21, 2015, against the Atlanta Braves. He got his first career hit off Trevor Cahill and finished the game 2-for-4, with two runs scored. During a game against the New York Yankees on April 25, 2015, Plawecki hit his first career home run off CC Sabathia en route to an 8–2 victory. Plawecki became the first player to hit his first career home run in a Mets-Yankees Subway Series game. Plawecki began experiencing dizziness in June, which sidelined him from playing for several games. He was demoted to the Las Vegas 51s on August 11, and recalled on September 1 due to expanded rosters in September. Plawecki finished the season with a .219 batting average with three home runs and 21 RBIs in 73 games played. Plawecki had surgery on his paranasal sinuses during the 2015–16 offseason to address his dizziness. He batted .197 in 48 games for the Mets in 2016, spending the rest of the season with Las Vegas. In an April 30, 2017, game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park, Plawecki was brought in to pitch for the first time since he was 14 years old. He threw only fastballs, giving up four runs over two innings. One of those was

Anthony Rendon Anthony Michael Rendon (, ; born June 6, 1990) is an American baseball third baseman for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played for the Washington Nationals and was a member of the Nationals' 2019 World S ...

's third home run of the game. The Mets lost 23-5. Plawecki suffered a broken hand on April 11, 2018.

Cleveland Indians

On January 6, 2019, the Mets traded Plawecki to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for

Walker Lockett Andrew Walker Lockett (born May 3, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, New York Mets and Seattle Mariners and in the KBO League for t ...

and

Sam Haggerty Samuel Onofrio Haggerty (born May 26, 1994) is an American professional baseball infielder and outfielder for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the New York Mets. Career Haggerty attended Mullen High S ...

. With the 2019 Indians, Plawecki appeared in 59 games, batting .222 with three home runs and 17 RBIs. He also made two pitching appearances, pitching a total of two innings without allowing a hit, walk, or run. On December 2, 2019, Plawecki was non-tendered and became a free agent.

Boston Red Sox

On January 3, 2020, the Red Sox signed Plawecki to a one-year, $900,000 contract. Overall with the 2020 Red Sox, Plawecki batted .342 with one home run and 17 RBIs in 23 games. In early December 2020, Plawecki and the Red Sox reached a one-year deal for the 2021 season. On February 17, 2021, he was placed on the COVID-19 injured list. He made the team's 2021 Opening Day roster to backup

Christian Vázquez Christian Rafael Vázquez (born August 21, 1990) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball catcher for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros. Selected by th ...

. Plawecki was placed on the

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

with a left

hamstring strain Straining of the hamstring, also known as a pulled hamstring, is defined as an excessive stretch or tear of muscle fibers and related tissues. Hamstring injuries are common in athletes participating in many sports. Track and field athletes are p ...

on June 22, and returned to the team on July 9. Plawecki made 64 regular-season appearances for Boston, batting .287 with three home runs and 15 RBIs. He also played in five postseason games, batting 1-for-7, as the Red Sox advanced to the

American League Championship Series The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the American ...

. On December 1, 2021, Plawecki and the Red Sox agreed to terms on a one-year contract for 2022, reportedly worth $2.25 million. He began the season again serving as backup to Vázquez. Plawecki missed a week of action in late April, spending time on the COVID-related list. He was again on the COVID-related list for two days during the first-half of July. On September 17, Plawecki was designated for assignment, as the team added pitcher

Frank German Franklin German (born September 22, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has played in MLB for the Boston Red Sox. Career Amateur career German graduated from Bishop McLa ...

to the roster, and was released two days later. Plawecki appeared in 73 games while batting .217 with one home run and 12 RBIs for the 2022 Red Sox.

Texas Rangers

On September 21, 2022, Plawecki signed a major-league contract with the Texas Rangers. In three games with Texas late in the 2022 season, he batted .273 (3-for-11) with one RBI.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On February 12, 2023, Plawecki signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

organization. He failed to make the Pirates’ Opening Day roster in spring training and was released by the team on March 27.

Washington Nationals

On April 1, 2023, Plawecki signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals organization. Playing in 24 games for the Triple-A

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

, he hit .256/.351/.342 with 1 home run and 6 RBI. On May 16, Plawecki exercised the opt-out clause in his contract and became a free agent.

San Diego Padres

On May 20, 2023, Plawecki signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres organization. In 33 games for the Triple–A El Paso Chihuahuas, he hit .276/.333/.439 with 3 home runs and 21 RBI.

Texas Rangers (second stint)

On July 28, 2023, Plawecki was traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for cash considerations. In 10 games for the Triple–A

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 ...

, he hit .294/.400/.324 with 2 RBI. On August 15, Plawecki was released by the Rangers organization.

San Diego Padres (second stint)

On December 30, 2023, Plawecki signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres.

Personal life

Plawecki grew up in Westfield, Indiana, with his parents and younger brother. His father coached his youth baseball teams. Plawecki and his wife, Tayler, were married in November 2015. They have two sons. Plawecki is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plawecki, Kevin 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Hinsdale, Illinois Baseball players from Cook County, Illinois People from Westfield, Indiana Sportspeople from Hamilton County, Indiana Baseball players from Indiana Purdue Boilermakers baseball players Hyannis Harbor Hawks players Major League Baseball catchers New York Mets players Cleveland Indians players Boston Red Sox players Texas Rangers players Brooklyn Cyclones players Savannah Sand Gnats players St. Lucie Mets players Binghamton Mets players Las Vegas 51s players Rochester Red Wings players El Paso Chihuahuas players Round Rock Express players American people of Polish descent