Conner Scott Menez (born May 29, 1995) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the Diablos Rojos del México of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

, and in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB) for the

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional Baseball in Japan, baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido, Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō, in the Sapporo metropolitan area. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the major ...

. He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

at The Master's University and was drafted by the Giants in the 14th round of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who ...

Amateur career

Menez attended San Benito High School in Hollister, California. He then played

at The Master's University from 2014 to 2016, where he had a 20–5 win–loss record and a 2.26 career

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 ...

(ERA), the lowest in school history.

Professional career

San Francisco Giants

The

selected Menez in the 14th round of the

. He signed for a $75,000

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 ...

. Menez spent his first professional season with the Arizona League Giants, Salem-Keizer Volcanoes and San Jose Giants, pitching to a combined 4–1 record and 4.22 ERA in 53.1 innings pitched between the three teams. He pitched in 2017 with San Jose, going 7–7 with a 4.41 ERA in 23 games (22 starts), and in 2018 with San Jose, the

Richmond Flying Squirrels The Richmond Flying Squirrels are a Minor League Baseball team based in Richmond, Virginia. The team, which is a part of the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major league club, and plays at The Diamond. Th ...

and the

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland ...

, compiling a combined 9–10 record with a 4.46 ERA in 28 total starts with 171 strikeouts in 135.1 innings (averaging 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings). He started 2019 with Richmond and was promoted to Sacramento during the season. Between the two teams, in 2019 he was 6–4 with a 3.79 ERA in 23 games (22 starts) in which he pitched 121 innings and struck out 154 batters (averaging 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings). On July 21, 2019, the Giants selected Menez's contract and promoted him to the major leagues. In his major league debut that day, he pitched five innings while allowing 2 runs and recording six strikeouts. In 2019 for the Giants he was 0–1 with a 5.29 ERA in eight games (three starts) covering 17 innings in which he struck out 22 batters. In 2020 for the Giants, Menez pitched to a 2.38 ERA with 8 strikeouts in 11.1 innings of work. On August 4, 2021, Menez was designated for assignment by the Giants. Menez was outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento on August 7.

Chicago Cubs

On December 8, 2021, the

selected Menez in the minor league phase of the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

to begin the 2022 season. On May 9, 2022, Menez was selected to the 40-man and active rosters. After pitching a scoreless inning in a loss to the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

, he was optioned back to Triple-A Iowa. On June 4, Menez was designated for assignment by Chicago after Caleb Kilian had his contract selected. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Iowa on June 6.

Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters

On June 24, 2022, Menez announced via Instagram that he would be signing with the

(NPB). Fighters manager Tsuyoshi Shinjo said regarding Menez's acquisition that he may come to Japan "in a week". In 18 appearances for the Fighters, Menez recorded a 1.08 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 25.0 innings pitched. In 2023, Menez pitched in 12 games for the Fighters, logging a 3.16 ERA with 19 strikeouts in innings of work. On July 1, 2023, Menez was released by Hokkaido. On October 9, 2023, Menez signed to played winter baseball with the

Águilas Cibaeñas The Águilas Cibaeñas (; ''Cibaoan Eagles'') is a professional baseball team in the Dominican Republic's Professional Baseball League (LIDOM), based in Santiago in the northern region of Cibao. Founded in , the team has won six Caribbean Series ...

of the

Dominican Professional Baseball League The Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League ( or LIDOM) is a professional baseball winter league consisting of six teams spread across the Dominican Republic; it is the highest level of professional baseball played in the Dominican Repub ...

, where he pitched in three games.

Diablos Rojos del México

On March 23, 2024, Menez signed with the Diablos Rojos del México of the

. In 31 games (7 starts), he compiled a 4–2 record and 4.25 ERA with 45 strikeouts across 53 innings of work. With the team, Menez won the

Serie del Rey The Serie del Rey () is the annual championship series of the Mexican Baseball League (LMB), held since . The champions from the league's two divisions, the North and South Zones, compete in a best-of-seven series, with the winner being awarded ...

. On October 17, 2024, Menez signed to played winter baseball with the Tomateros de Culiacán of the

Mexican Pacific League The Mexican Pacific League (, or LMP), also known as the Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons, is a professional baseball Winter league baseball, winter league based in Northwestern Mexico. The league comprises 10 teams. It wa ...

Personal life

Menez's grandfather was

Bill Plummer William Francis Plummer (March 21, 1947 – March 12, 2024) was an American professional baseball player and Manager (baseball), manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher in 1968 and then from 1970 to 1978, most notably as a ...

, a former major league catcher, coach, and manager.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Menez, Conner 1995 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Arizona League Giants players Baseball players from California Chicago Cubs players Diablos Rojos del México players Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters players Iowa Cubs players Major League Baseball pitchers Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers People from Hollister, California Sportspeople from San Benito County, California Richmond Flying Squirrels players Sacramento River Cats players Salem-Keizer Volcanoes players San Francisco Giants players San Jose Giants players The Master's Mustangs baseball players