Jesmuel José Valentín (born May 12, 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 ...

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

and

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

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

Career

Los Angeles Dodgers

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 ...

selected Valentín in the first round of the

2012 MLB Draft The 2012 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto Rico Baseball Ac ...

(51st overall) out of the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy and he signed, forgoing his commitment to play

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, ...

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

. The Dodgers assigned him to the

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 ...

to begin his professional career that year and he hit .211 with two home runs and 18 RBIs in 43 games. He split 2013 between the

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 ...

and the

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 ...

, and he hit .264 with four home runs and 29 RBIs in 95 games. He began 2014 with Great Lakes where he hit .280 with seven home runs and 47 RBIs in 108 games.

Philadelphia Phillies

The Dodgers traded Valentín to the

on August 16, 2014, as a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

(along with Victor Arano) in a deal that sent Roberto Hernández to the Dodgers. The Phillies assigned him to the

Clearwater Threshers The Clearwater Threshers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Clearwater, Florida, and have played their home games at BayCare Ballpark since 20 ...

where he batted .205 in 12 games. He began 2015 with Clearwater. On April 11, 2015, he was placed on the restricted list and suspended indefinitely following his arrest for a domestic violence incident. The Phillies added him to their 40-man roster after the 2016 season. After he was activated off the restricted list, he returned to Clearwater, where he spent the whole season, posting a .273 batting average with one home run and 14 RBIs in 31 games. In 2016, he spent time with both the

Reading Fightin Phils The Reading Fightin Phils (also called the Reading Fightins) are a Minor League Baseball team based in Reading, Pennsylvania, playing in the Northeast Division of the Eastern League. The team plays their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium. The R ...

and the

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 they are named in reference to pig iron, used ...

, batting .269 with nine home runs, 52 RBIs and a .736 OPS in 125 combined games between both teams. He spent 2017 with Lehigh Valley where he batted .229 in 29 games before a separated shoulder caused him to miss the remainder of the season. He began 2018 with Lehigh Valley.

Major leagues

Valentín was promoted to the majors for the first time on April 29, 2018. He recorded his first career Major League hit on May 7 against 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 ...

. He hit his first career home run and recorded his first multi-hit game on June 13 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 ...

. Valentín made an appearance as a pitcher in during a June 15 game 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 ...

, surrendering three runs over one inning while recording one strikeout. He was designated for assignment on September 1. Valentín elected free agency following the season on November 2.

Baltimore Orioles

On April 11, 2019, Valentín signed with the

High Point Rockers The High Point Rockers are an American professional minor-league baseball team based at Truist Point ballpark in High Point, North Carolina, which is part of the Piedmont Triad region. They are members of the South Division of the Atlantic League ...

of the

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

. The next day, his contract was purchased by the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

organization. In 115 games for the Double–A

Bowie Baysox The Chesapeake Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. From 1993 to 2024, th ...

, he hit .256/.334/.390 with 8 home runs, 46 RBI, and 10 stolen bases. Valentín did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of 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 ...

. He became a free agent following the season on November 2, 2020.

Québec Capitales

On August 24, 2023, Valentín signed with the Québec Capitales of the

Frontier League The Frontier League (FL; French: ''Ligue Frontière'', LF) is a professional baseball league in North America composed of 18 teams – 15 in the United States and 3 in Canada. The FL is one of the eight independent baseball leagues in North Ame ...

. In 9 games for the team, he batted .323/.417/.387 with no home runs and five RBI. On November 21, 2023, Valentín re-signed with the Capitales. In 65 games for Québec, he slashed .271/.383/.442 with nine home runs, 49 RBI, and nine stolen bases. On September 23, 2024, Valentín signed with the Dorados de Chihuahua 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 ...

. However, he did not appear for Chihuahua, and re-signed with Québec on June 10, 2025.

Personal life

His father,

José Valentín José Antonio Valentín (born October 12, 1969) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers (–), Chicago White Sox (–), Los Angeles Dodgers (), and New Y ...

, and uncle, Javier Valentín played in

. His first child, a daughter named Ximena, was born on June 25, 2018.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Valentin, Jesmuel 1994 births Living people Arizona League Dodgers players Bowie Baysox players Clearwater Threshers players Great Lakes Loons players Indios de Mayagüez players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Leones de Ponce baseball players Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball third basemen Major League Baseball right fielders Major League Baseball left fielders Ogden Raptors players People from Manatí, Puerto Rico Philadelphia Phillies players Québec Capitales players Reading Fightin Phils players Baseball players at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games