Edwin Gabriel Ríos (born April 21, 1994) is a Puerto Rican 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 ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

in the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

organization. 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

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers 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 ...

. 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, ...

for

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...

. Ríos was drafted by the Dodgers in the sixth round of the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

and debuted for them in 2019.

Early life and amateur career

Ríos was born in

Caguas, Puerto Rico Caguas (, ) is a Caguas barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in central eastern Puerto Rico. Located in the eponymous Caguas Valley between the Sierra de Cayey and Sierra de Luquillo of the Cordillera Central (Puer ...

. His parents are Heyda Rosario and Edwin Rios. Early in life, his family moved to

Kissimmee, Florida Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a principal city of the Greater Orlando, O ...

, where he played baseball at Osceola High School. Ríos attended

(FIU), and played

for the

FIU Panthers The FIU Panthers are the athletic teams representing Florida International University, an American public university located in Miami, Florida. The Panthers currently compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I athlet ...

. In his junior year in 2015, he batted .314/.421/.592 (second in

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

) with 18

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s (leading the conference) and 56

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) 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 th ...

(RBIs; 2nd) in 223 at bats. In 2013 he 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 ...

with the

Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League ...

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 1,000 forme ...

. He then returned to the league in 2014 to play for the

Orleans Firebirds The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play ...

. Ríos was drafted by the Dodgers in the sixth round of the

Professional career

Los Angeles Dodgers

Ríos began his professional career with the rookie–level

Arizona League Dodgers The Arizona Complex League Dodgers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona. The team is compo ...

in 2015 but was quickly promoted to the rookie–level

Ogden Raptors The Ogden Raptors are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Ogden, Utah and play their home games at Lindquist Field. Pitch ...

of the

Pioneer Baseball League The Pioneer Baseball League (also known as simply the Pioneer League) is a professional baseball league based in the Western United States. It operates as one of four Major League Baseball (MLB) Partner Leagues in the American independent bas ...

. He hit .253/.317/.467 with three home runs and 13 RBI in 22 games for the two teams. He began 2016 with the Single–A

Great Lakes Loons The Great Lakes Loons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Midland, Michigan, and play their home games at Dow Diamond, which opened in April 2007. Hist ...

of the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

, hitting .252 with six homers and 13 RBI in 33 games, earning a promotion to the High–A

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and play their home games at LoanMart Field. The franc ...

of the

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leagu ...

, where he hit .367/.394/.712 with 16 homers and 46 RBI in 177 at-bats over 42 games. Ríos was later promoted again, to the Double–A

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. He was named the Dodgers organizational minor league player of the year for 2016. Ríos was named as a starter in the

mid-season All-Star Game in 2017. For the season, he played in 128 games between Tulsa and the Triple–A

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Comets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their ho ...

and hit .309/.362/.533 with 24 homers and 91 RBI in 393 at-bats. He was named a ''Baseball America'' Double-A All-Star, and an MiLB.com Dodgers Organization All-Star. Edwin Rios 2019 DODGERS FANFEST

On November 20, 2018, the Dodgers added Ríos to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

to protect him from 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 returned to Oklahoma City to begin 2019, and batted .270/.340/.575 with 31 home runs and 91 RBI in 393 at-bats. He was named an MiLB.com Dodgers Organization All-Star. Ríos was promoted to the major leagues for the first time on June 27, 2019. He made his debut that night as a pinch hitter against the

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

and grounded out to first base. His first major league hit was a

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * I ...

off of

Jon Gray Jonathan Charles (Jon) Gray (born November 5, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Colorado Rockies. Gray pla ...

of the Rockies on June 29. On August 14, Ríos hit his first two major league home runs off of

Elieser Hernández Elieser Alexis Hernández (; born May 3, 1995) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher for the LG Twins of the KBO League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Milwaukee Bre ...

of 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

. He appeared in 28 games for the Dodgers in 2019, hitting .277/.393/.617 with four home runs and eight RBI in 47 at-bats. He played 12 games at first base, three at third base, one in left field, and one at DH. Ríos hit the first-ever two-run home run by a batter leading off an inning in MLB history on July 29, 2020. The home run came in the top of the 13th inning in a game against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

and ended up being the deciding factor in the game. During the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Ríos appeared in 32 games for the Dodgers, batting .250/.301/.645 with eight home runs and 17 RBI in 76 at-bats. He played 21 games at third base, six at first base, and one at DH. He was hitless in three at-bats with a walk in his one start in the National League Wild Card Series against the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

. He suffered a groin injury prior to the

second round The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

of the playoffs and was left off the roster. He rejoined the Dodgers roster for the

2020 NLCS The 2020 National League Championship Series was the best-of-seven series in Major League Baseball’s 2020 postseason between the two National League Division Series winners, the second-seeded Atlanta Braves and the overall #1 seed Los Angeles ...

, where he hit two home runs in nine at-bats against the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

. Ríos only had two at-bats in the

2020 World Series The 2020 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's 2020 season. The 116th World Series was a best-of-seven-playoff between the American League (AL) champion Tampa Bay Rays and the National League (NL) champion Los An ...

, both of which were strikeouts. In 2021, Ríos batted .078/.217/.137, playing in 25 games with four hits in 51 at-bats with one home run. However, his season ended on May 11, when the Dodgers announced that he would undergo season-ending surgery on a partially torn labrum in his right shoulder. Ríos began the 2022 season on the major league roster, appearing in 27 games and hitting .244 with seven homers and 17 RBI. He suffered a hamstring strain on June 3 and spent the next two and a half months on the injured list. When Ríos finally returned in mid-August there was no longer a spot on the major league club and he spent the rest of the season with Oklahoma City. In the minors, he played in 48 games and hit .259 with nine homers and 39 RBI. On November 18, 2022, Ríos was non-tendered by the Dodgers and became a free agent.

Chicago Cubs

Ríos signed a one year, $1 million, Major League contract with the

on February 17, 2023. In 18 games, he went 2–for–28 (.071) with 1 home run, 2 RBI, and 5 walks. On July 30, Ríos was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright 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 ...

. He elected free agency on October 13.

Cincinnati Reds

On February 13, 2024, Ríos signed a minor league contract with the

organization. He was released by the organization on June 16, but re–signed with the Reds on a new minor league contract two days later. In 50 games for the Triple–A

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

, he hit .243/.340/.486 with 11 home runs and 27 RBI. On July 5, the Reds selected Ríos's contract, adding him to the major league roster. In five games for Cincinnati, he went 1–for–9 (.111) with a walk. Ríos was designated for assignment by the Reds on July 19. He cleared waivers and elected free agency the following day. Ríos re-signed with Cincinnati on a new minor league contract on July 23. He elected free agency following the season on November 4. On February 1, 2025, Ríos re-signed with the Reds organization on a minor league contract.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ríos, Edwin 1994 births Living people Arizona League Dodgers players Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds players Cotuit Kettleers players FIU Panthers baseball players Great Lakes Loons players Iowa Cubs players Los Angeles Dodgers players Louisville Bats players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico 21st-century Puerto Rican sportsmen Ogden Raptors players Oklahoma City Dodgers players Orleans Firebirds players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Sportspeople from Caguas, Puerto Rico Tulsa Drillers players