José Alexander López (born February 15, 1999) 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 ...

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, ...

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

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

Career

Tampa Bay Rays

On October 28, 2016, López signed with the

as an international

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. He made his professional debut with the Dominican Summer League Rays in 2017, posting a 3.08 ERA in 15 games. López spent the 2018 season with the rookie–level Gulf Coast League Rays, recording a 2.27 ERA with 36 strikeouts across innings pitched. López spent the 2019 campaign with the rookie–level

Princeton Rays The Princeton Rays were a Minor League Baseball team in Princeton, West Virginia, operating as an Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League. The team was affiliated with several Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises, primarily the Ta ...

, registering a 4–3 record and 2.54 ERA with 55 strikeouts over 12 starts. He 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 ...

. López returned to action in 2021 with the Single–A

Charleston RiverDogs The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. Char ...

and High–A

Bowling Green Hot Rods The Bowling Green Hot Rods are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and play their home games at Bowling Green Ballpark, which ...

. In 27 games (10 starts) between the two affiliates, he accumulated a 6–7 record and 5.06 ERA with 83 strikeouts across innings. López spent the majority of the 2022 campaign with the Double–A

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

, compiling an 8–3 record and 2.60 ERA with 91 strikeouts and 9 saves. On December 7, 2022, the

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

selected López from the Rays in 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 ...

at the

Winter Meetings Representatives of all 30 Major League Baseball teams and their 120 Minor League Baseball affiliates convene for four days each December in the Winter Meetings to discuss league business and conduct off-season trades and transactions. Attendees in ...

. On March 26, 2023, López was returned to the Rays after struggling to a 9.00 ERA across seven

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

appearances. He was assigned to the Triple–A

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

to begin the 2023 season, where he posted a 5.19 ERA with 27 strikeouts and 2 saves in 23 appearances. On June 10, 2023. López was selected to the

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 ...

and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut the same day, allowing one run on three hits in two innings of work against the Texas Rangers. On July 7, López was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

following the promotion of

Elvin Rodríguez Elvin Miguel Rodríguez (born March 31, 1998) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays, and Milwaukee Brewers, an ...

. After clearing waivers, he was released by the Rays on July 10. On July 21, López re–signed with the Rays on a minor league contract. He elected free agency following the season on November 6.

Hagerstown Flying Boxcars

On July 1, 2024, López signed with the

Hagerstown Flying Boxcars The Hagerstown Flying Boxcars are a professional baseball team that began play in 2024 in Hagerstown, Maryland. The franchise competes in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball in the North Division and play their home games at Meritus Par ...

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 ...

. In 18 games for Hagerstown, López compiled a 2.16 ERA with 21 strikeouts over innings pitched.

Lake Country DockHounds

On August 23, 2024, López was traded to the

Lake Country DockHounds The Lake Country DockHounds are a professional baseball team that is based in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. The DockHounds currently play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. Lake Co ...

of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor ...

in exchange for 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 ...

. In 6 games for Lake Country, he compiled an 0–1 record and 5.06 ERA with 7 strikeouts and 1 saves across innings of relief. He became a free agent following the season.

References

External links