Adrián Nieto (born November 12, 1989) is a Cuban 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 ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher ...

. He played one season 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

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 ...

Career

Washington Nationals

Nieto was born in

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 ...

, but raised in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

. He attended

American Heritage High School The American Heritage Schools (AHS, Heritage) are a pair of private, college preparatory, independent, nonsectarian, and co-educational day schools for grades Pre-K 3 through 12. The two campuses together teach 4,200 students and are located ...

Plantation, Florida Plantation is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 91,750. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. The city's name comes from the previous part-owner of the land, the E ...

. He played for the school's baseball team as a

. After Nieto graduated, 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 Stadi ...

selected him in the fifth round of the 2008 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft. He signed with the Nationals, receiving a $376,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

, roughly twice as much as MLB suggested he should receive based on his draft position. He made his professional debut with the

GCL Nationals The Florida Complex League Nationals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Washington Nationals, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Nationals. The ...

, posting a .217/.308/.348 slash line. In 2009, he returned to the GCL Nationals, batting .228/.337/.287 with 17 RBI in 42 games. The next year, Nieto played for the Single-A

Hagerstown Suns The Hagerstown Suns were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland. They were a member of the South Atlantic League and, from 2007 through 2020, were the Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They played their home ga ...

, slashing .195/.291/.253 with 2 home runs and 14 RBI. In 2011, he was suspended for 50 games for violating the league's

performance-enhancing drug Performance-enhancing substances, also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. A well-known example of cheating in sports involves doping in sport, where bann ...

policy after testing positive for an

anabolic steroid Anabolic steroids, also known more properly as anabolic–androgenic steroids (AAS), are steroidal androgens that include natural androgens like testosterone as well as synthetic androgens that are structurally related and have similar effects t ...

. He split the year between the Low-A

Auburn Doubledays The Auburn Doubledays are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) that is located in Auburn, New York. From 1958 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYP ...

, Hagerstown, and the High-A

Potomac Nationals The Potomac Nationals were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They were located in Woodbridge, Virginia, and played their home games at Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium. After the 2019 season, the team relocated to F ...

, accumulating a .278/.360/.450 batting line with career-highs in home runs (7) and RBI (34). In 2012, Nieto split the season between Hagerstown and the GCL Nationals, hitting .247/.340/.385 between the two teams. Nieto played for the Spanish national baseball team in the

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike ...

. In the 2013 season, Nieto batted .285 with 11

home run 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 is ...

s for Potomac in the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 un ...

. The Nationals assigned him to the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fi ...

after the season to continue his development.

Chicago White Sox

On December 12, 2013, the

selected Nieto with the third pick in the Rule 5 draft. Because Nieto was a Rule 5 pick, he had to be on the

roster for the entire season, so for 2014, he was the backup to

Tyler Flowers Cole Tyler Flowers (born January 24, 1986) is an American former professional baseball catcher. Flowers was drafted by the Braves in the 33rd round of the 2005 MLB draft. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox from 200 ...

, batting .236/.296/.340 in 48 games. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The current ...

for the 2015 season, and batted .207/.344/.316 with 5 home runs and 27 RBI in 81 games. On October 7, 2015, Nieto was outrighted off of the 40-man roster. He elected free agency on November 6, 2015.

Miami Marlins

On December 2, 2015, Nieto signed a minor league contract with the

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 fra ...

organization. He spent the year with 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 slashed .195/.287/.257 with 1 home run and 19 RBI. On November 7, 2016, he elected free agency.

Cincinnati Reds

Nieto signed a minor league contract 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 ...

organization on January 2, 2017. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the winged mammal and baseball ...

, and also spent time with the Double-A

Pensacola Blue Wahoos The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home games at Admiral Fetterman Field. In 2012, the team re ...

, but was released by the Reds organization on August 27 after hitting a cumulative .230/.282/.323 with 3 home runs and 21 RBI.

Kansas City T-Bones

On May 4, 2018, Nieto signed with the

Kansas City T-Bones The Kansas City Monarchs are a professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Kansas. Formerly known as the Kansas City T-Bones, they are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball; which, in 2020, became designated as a M ...

of the independent American Association. In 81 games for Kansas City, Nieto slashed .313/.384/.426 with 6 home runs and 44 RBI. He was released by the team on March 11, 2019.

Sioux Falls Canaries

On March 19, 2019, Nieto signed with the

Sioux Falls Canaries The Sioux Falls Canaries are a professional baseball team based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. The Canaries are members of the North Division of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major ...

of the American Association. Nieto played in 32 games for Sioux Falls, batting .269/.336/.392 with 4 home runs and 24 RBI.

Miami Marlins (second stint)

On June 22, 2019, Nieto's contract was purchased by the

organization. He split the remainder of the season between the Double-A

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pl ...

and the High-A

Jupiter Hammerheads The Jupiter Hammerheads are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roger Dean ...

, posting a cumulative .188/.233/.288 slash line with 2 home runs and 7 RBI.

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs

On February 4, 2020, Nieto signed with the

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs are an American professional baseball team based in Waldorf, Maryland. They are members of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League B ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. Nieto did not play a game for the team because of the cancellation of the 2020 ALPB season due to 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 identified ...

and became a free agent after the year.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nieto, Adrian 1989 births Living people Baseball players from Havana Baseball players from Florida Major League Baseball players from Cuba Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Major League Baseball catchers Chicago White Sox players Gulf Coast Nationals players Hagerstown Suns players Auburn Doubledays players Potomac Nationals players Mesa Solar Sox players Birmingham Barons players Gigantes del Cibao players Cuban expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic New Orleans Zephyrs players Pensacola Blue Wahoos players Kansas City T-Bones players Sioux Falls Canaries players Jupiter Hammerheads players Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp players 2013 World Baseball Classic players American Heritage School (Florida) alumni