Raúl Valdés Rubio (born November 27, 1977) is a

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 ...

n- Dominican former professional

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 t ...

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 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

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 ...

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 ha ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

, Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros and with the

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011) ...

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).

Professional career

Chicago Cubs

In 2003, Valdés defected from Cuba, where he was a member of the Cuban National team. He signed with the Chicago Cubs as a non-drafted free agent in 2004, and was assigned to the Cubs farm team of the

Dominican Summer League The Dominican Summer League (DSL) is a branch of affiliated Minor League Baseball which is played in the Dominican Republic. The league was founded in 1985. After the demise of the Venezuelan Summer League after the 2015 season, it is the only ...

. He posted a 7–2 record with a 0.51

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

in 16 games for the Dominican Cubs, holding the opponents to a .127

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. He also saw action as an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

, batting .241 with 12 doubles and 26

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

in 50 games, and was selected for the DSL Post-Season All-Star. Valdés opened 2005 with Double-A West Tenn, but was promoted rapidly to Triple-A

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

on May 9. He went 2–0 in five starts,

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denote ...

18 batters and issued just three walks over 23 innings of work for West Tenn. While in Iowa, he was 6–7 with a save in 25 appearances (17 starts), working six or more innings in six of his starts, ending 5–0 with a 2.15 ERA in those outings. In 2006, Valdés dropped to 1–3 with a 7.59 ERA in 32 innings for Iowa before being released.

Independent leagues

Valdés joined the independent

Can-Am League 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 ...

, going 2–1 with a 5.09 ERA in four games for the

Nashua Pride The Nashua Pride was a professional baseball team based in Nashua, New Hampshire, in the United States, not affiliated with Major League Baseball. They played home games at Holman Stadium from 1998 through 2008, when they were sold and renamed ...

and 7–3 with a 2.81 ERA in 17 games, including 12 starts, for the

New Jersey Jackals The New Jersey Jackals are an American professional baseball team based in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. The team was founded in 1998 by Floyd Hall and is owned by Al Dorso, a businessman who also owns the Sussex County Miners, ...

New York Mets

Valdés signed a minor league contract with the

after the end of the season. He started 2007 with High-A St. Lucie and later was promoted to Double-A

Binghamton Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...

. He combined for a 0–2 record with a 4.17 ERA and one save in 23 games (one start), before being released. Since 2008, Valdés has pitched winter baseball for the

Gigantes del Cibao The Gigantes del Cibao (English: Cibao giants) are a baseball team that plays in the Dominican Winter League. The team was founded in 1996 as ''Gigantes del Noroeste ''then with a change of ownership the name was changed several times, being cal ...

of the Dominican League and

Navegantes del Magallanes The Navegantes del Magallanes ( Magellan Navigators), commonly known as Magallanes, are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in Valencia, Magallanes has won 13 LVBP championships and two (2) Caribbean Series. It w ...

of the

Venezuelan League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

. He represented the Dominican team in the 2010 Caribbean Series, in which he led all pitchers in wins (two) and strikeouts (13) and was selected to the All-Star Team. Valdés was invited to spring training with the Mets in 2010. He was sent to the Triple-A

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 ...

to start the season, but was quickly promoted to the major leagues. On May 11, Valdés got his first major league victory in an 8–6 win over the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

. On July 6, Valdés was called back as the Mets placed

Fernando Tatís Fernando Gabriel Tatís Medina Sr. (born January 1, 1975) is a Dominican former professional baseball third baseman and Minor League Baseball (MiLB) manager. Over his 11-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, Tatís played for the Texas R ...

on the 15-day disabled list. On August 13, Valdés was optioned to AAA along with

Ryota Igarashi is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays and New Y ...

to make room for Pat Misch and Francisco Rodríguez. On November 5, Valdés was sent down to Triple-A Buffalo and became a free-agent after refusing the minor league assignment.

St. Louis Cardinals

On November 23, 2010, Valdés signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the

. Valdés made seven appearances for St. Louis, pitching in 5.1 innings and allowing two earned runs on six hits. He was designated for assignment on August 12, 2011.

New York Yankees

On August 16, Valdés was claimed off waivers by the

. On August 18, he was assigned to Triple-A

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...

. Valdes declared for free agency on October 11.

Philadelphia Phillies

On November 10, 2011, Valdés signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the Philadelphia Phillies. After opening the season with the AAA

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...

, his contract was purchased by the Phillies on May 11, and he joined the club's 25-man active roster.

Houston Astros

Valdés was claimed off waivers by the Houston Astros on October 2, 2013. He was designated for assignment on March 27, 2014. Valdes had his contract purchased by the Astros on April 17, 2014, and was placed on the club's 25-man roster. He was designated for assignment on May 4, and sent outright to the Triple-A

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 M ...

on May 6.

Toronto Blue Jays

Valdés was traded to 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 ...

on May 19, 2014, for a player to be named later or cash considerations, and he was assigned to the Triple-A

. He elected free agency after the season ended.

Chunichi Dragons

On the December 2, 2014, Valdes signed a $400,000, 1-year deal with the Chunichi Dragons of the NPB. On 26 September 2017, it was announced that Valdes had been released by the Dragons.

Saraperos de Saltillo

On April 3, 2018, Valdes signed with the

Saraperos de Saltillo The Saraperos de Saltillo (English: Saltillo Serape Wearers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. Their home ballpark is the Estadio de Béisbol Francisco I. Madero in Saltillo, Coahuila. They have won three championships (19 ...

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 t ...

. He was released on July 3, 2018.

Toros de Tijuana

On October 16, 2018, Valdes signed with the

Toros de Tijuana The Toros de Tijuana (or Tijuana Bulls) are a Mexican Baseball team based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. They are members of the Mexican Baseball League and play their home games at Estadio Chevron. Team history Original Attempt The fran ...

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 2019 season. On April 30, 2019, during a game against the

, umpires detected a foreign substance on his left arm, which appeared to be pine tar. He was ejected from the game, and later suspended for 10 games and fined an undisclosed amount for the incident. He was released on November 28, 2019.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valdes, Raul 1977 births Living people New York Mets players St. Louis Cardinals players New York Yankees players Philadelphia Phillies players Houston Astros players Binghamton Mets players Iowa Cubs players Nashua Pride players New Jersey Jackals players St. Lucie Mets players West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Memphis Redbirds players Navegantes del Magallanes players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Toros de Tijuana players Toros del Este players Trenton Thunder players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Saraperos de Saltillo players Major League Baseball players from Cuba Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Cuban expatriate baseball players in Japan Chunichi Dragons players Defecting Cuban baseball players Baseball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in baseball Olympic bronze medalists for the Dominican Republic Olympic baseball players of the Dominican Republic Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Japan Gigantes del Cibao players Leones del Escogido players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Cuban expatriate baseball players in Mexico Tomateros de Culiacán players Vaqueros de la Habana players Cuban emigrants to the Dominican Republic Naturalized citizens of the Dominican Republic Baseball players from Havana

Professional career

Chicago Cubs

Independent leagues

New York Mets

St. Louis Cardinals

New York Yankees

Philadelphia Phillies

Houston Astros

Toronto Blue Jays

Chunichi Dragons

Saraperos de Saltillo

Toros de Tijuana

See also

References

External links