Erik González (born August 31, 1991) is a Dominican 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 ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

who is a free agent. 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

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

, and

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 ...

Career

Cleveland Indians

Originally signed by the

as a free agent in 2008, he began his professional career with the rookie-level Indians squads, where he played through the 2011 season. He was promoted to the

Mahoning Valley Scrappers The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Niles, Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River, and play their home games at Eastwood Field. From 1999 to 2020, they were ...

in 2012, and finished the year with a .220

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 ...

in 60 games. He was then promoted to the

Lake County Captains The Lake County Captains are a Minor League Baseball team in Eastlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, that plays in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The Captains joined the Class A Midwest League following ...

and

Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and play their home games ...

in 2013. After the 2013 season, MiLB.com named González the best

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 ...

in the Indians minor league system. He was added to the Indians'

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 ...

following the season. In 2014, he split the season with the Mudcats and the

Akron RubberDucks The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park (Akron, Ohio) ...

; with the RubberDucks he had a .357 batting average in 31 games, and was named to the Midwest League All-Star roster while with the Mudcats, hitting .289 in 74 games. In 2015, he split the season between the RubberDucks and the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, merch ...

of the Triple–A

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

. González began the 2016 season with Columbus, and appeared in the

Triple-A All-Star Game The Triple-A All-Star Game was an annual baseball game held from 1988 to 2019 between professional players from the affiliated Triple-A leagues of Minor League Baseball. These leagues were the International League (IL) and Pacific Coast League (P ...

. He was promoted to the major leagues on July 14, 2016. He finished the season in the major leagues with a .313 batting average in 21 games, and a .296 batting average, 11

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, and 12

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s with the Clippers in 104 games. In 2018, González played in 81 games for the Indians as a

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player or utility man is a player who has the ability to play more than one position in the field and is primarily used as a substitute. The term super utility player may be used to refer to a player who can play all or mos ...

, averaging .265 from 136

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

s with 1 homer and 16

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 ...

Pittsburgh Pirates

On November 14, 2018, González (along with minor leaguers

Tahnaj Thomas Tahnaj A'kheel Thomas (born June 16, 1999) is a Bahamian professional baseball pitcher for the Milwaukee Milkmen of the American Association of Professional Baseball. Career Cleveland Indians Thomas signed with the Cleveland Indians as an intern ...

and Dante Mendoza) were traded to the

in exchange for Max Moroff and

Jordan Luplow Jordan Thomas Luplow ( ; born September 26, 1993) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the High Point Rockers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsbu ...

. In a game on April 19, 2019, González was chasing after a fly ball and collided with outfielder Starling Marte. Marte had to be carted off of the field and González suffered a fractured left clavicle, and was placed on the 60-day injured list the next day. In a shortened 2020 season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, González batted .227/.255/.359 with 3 home runs and 20 RBI in 50 games. On August 7, 2021, González was designated for assignment by the Pirates. On August 10, González cleared waivers and was outrighted to the Triple-A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

. On October 13, González elected free agency.

Miami Marlins

On November 28, 2021, González signed a minor league contract with the

. He began the 2022 season with the

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

and was promoted to the major leagues on May 8. In 35 plate appearances with Miami, he mustered a .194/.286/.194 batting line with 3 RBI. On May 26, González was removed from the 40-man roster and returned to Triple-A Jacksonville. On June 26, 2022, González was selected back to the active roster and slotted in the lineup as the starting

against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

. He was designated for assignment on July 1, after Billy Hamilton was added to the roster. He elected free agency on November 10.

Chicago White Sox

On December 29, 2022, González signed a minor league contract with 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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

organization. He spent 2023 with the Triple–A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field ...

, playing in 131 games and batting .272/.322/.360 with 5 home runs and 59 RBI. González elected free agency following the season on November 6.

Cincinnati Reds

On December 5, 2023, González signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

. On November 6, he elected free agency.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Erik 1991 births Living people Akron RubberDucks players Arizona League Indians players Carolina Mudcats players Charlotte Knights players Cleveland Indians players Columbus Clippers players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Indians players Indianapolis Indians players Lake County Captains players Leones del Escogido players Louisville Bats players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Major League Baseball shortstops Miami Marlins players Pittsburgh Pirates players Baseball players from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic