Jorge Luis Alcalá (born July 28, 1995) is a Dominican 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 ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("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, who attempts to e ...
for the
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area ...
of
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).
Career
Houston Astros
Alcalá signed with the
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
as an international free agent in December 2014. He made his professional debut in 2015 with the
Dominican Summer League Astros
The Dominican Summer League Astros, or DSL Astros, is a minor league baseball team of the Dominican Summer League, and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Boca Chica, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. From ...
, going 2–0 with a 3.06 ERA in 32.1 innings pitched. He played 2016 with the
Gulf Coast Astros,
Greeneville Astros
The Greeneville Astros were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Rookie-level Appalachian League from 2004 to 2017. They represented the town of Greeneville, Tennessee, though Pioneer Park, their home stadium, was located in nearby ...
and
Tri-City ValleyCats, pitching to a combined 3–3 record with a 2.41 ERA in 15 games (ten starts) between the three teams. He played 2017 with the
Quad Cities River Bandits and
Buies Creek Astros, compiling a 7–6 record with a 3.05 ERA in 22 games (18 starts), and started 2018 with Buies Creek before being promoted to the
Corpus Christi Hooks.
Minnesota Twins
On July 27, 2018, Alcalá and
Gilberto Celestino were traded to the
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area ...
in exchange for
Ryan Pressly. He was assigned to the
Chattanooga Lookouts
The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home ...
. In 24 games (16 starts) between Buies Creek, Corpus Christi, and Chattanooga, he pitched to a 3–11 record with a 3.81 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. He split the 2019 minor league season between the
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 ...
and the
Rochester Red Wings
The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field, located in do ...
, combining to go 6–7 with a 5.47 ERA over 109 innings.
On September 14, 2019, the Twins selected Alcalá's contract and promoted him to the major leagues. He made his major league debut on September 21 versus the
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expa ...
, pitching of an inning.
With the
2020 Minnesota Twins, Alcalá appeared in 16 games, compiling a 2–1 record with 2.63 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 24.0 innings pitched.
In
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
, Alcalá appeared in 59 games for the Twins. He ended the year with a 3–6 record, a 3.92 ERA, and 61 strikeouts across 59.2 innings.
Alcalá only appeared in 2 games during the
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeyp ...
season. Unfortunately, elbow inflammation essentially wiped out his entire season, as he was placed on the injured list 5 games into the year, before being shut down for the season in August. He pitched 2.1 innings, striking out 2 while walking 2 other batters.
On January 13, 2023, Alcalá agreed to a one-year, $790K contract with the Twins, avoiding salary arbitration.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alcala, Jorge
1995 births
Living people
People from Bajos de Haina
Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States
Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic
Major League Baseball pitchers
Minnesota Twins players
Dominican Summer League Astros players
Gulf Coast Astros players
Greeneville Astros players
Tri-City ValleyCats players
Quad Cities River Bandits players
Buies Creek Astros players
Corpus Christi Hooks players
Chattanooga Lookouts players
Pensacola Blue Wahoos players
Rochester Red Wings players
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels players