José Marcos Torres (born September 24, 1993) is a Venezuelan 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, ...

for the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna 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 ...

. 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

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. ...

Career

Oakland Athletics

Torres signed 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 ...

with the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

in July 2010. The Athletics began using him exclusively as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

during the 2015 season, and he had a 2.56

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

mostly for the

Beloit Snappers The Beloit Sky Carp are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Beloit, Wisconsin, and play their home games at ABC Supply Stadium. They previously played at Harry C ...

of the Single–A

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 ...

, while also making three appearances for the

Stockton Ports The Stockton Ports are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Athletics. They are located in Stockton, California, and are named for the city's seaport. The team plays its home games at Banner I ...

of the High–A

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 ...

. After the 2015 season, the Athletics added Torres 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 being eligible to be selected 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 ...

on November 20.

San Diego Padres

The Athletics then traded Torres,

Drew Pomeranz Thomas Andrew Pomeranz (born November 22, 1988), nicknamed Big Smooth, is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, ...

, and 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 ...

or cash considerations to the

for Marc Rzepczynski and Yonder Alonso on December 2. Following the 2016 minor league season, the Padres promoted Torres to the major leagues on September 21. He pitched three innings for the Padres and was then assigned to the Peoria Javelinas of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

. Torres made the Padres'

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster in 2017. He was 7-4 with a 4.21 ERA and shared the major league lead in

balk In baseball, a balk is a set of illegal motions or actions that a pitcher may make. Most of these violations involve pitchers pretending to pitch when they have no intention of doing so. In games played under the Baseball_rules#Rules, Official Ba ...

s, with three. He was placed on the MLB restricted list by the Padres in February 2018 as a result of an arrest for a domestic violence incident. On June 8, he was suspended for the remainder of the season without pay for violating MLB's personal conduct policy. On October 4, he was designated for assignment after the season was over, and on October 10, he was released after clearing outright waivers.

Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos

On May 20, 2021, Torres signed with the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos of the

. In 24 games for the team, he posted a 5–1 record and 0.89 ERA with 45 strikeouts and 4 saves across innings pitched. Torres made 38 appearances for the Tecolotes in 2022, recording a 3.54 ERA with 47 strikeouts and 11 saves over innings of relief. He was released by the team on August 1, 2022.

Algodoneros de Unión Laguna

On January 10, 2023, Torres was traded to the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna of the

in exchange for Jordan Guerrero. In 43 games for Laguna, he posted a 3–3 record and 5.07 ERA with 60 strikeouts and 4 saves across innings pitched. Torres made 51 appearances for the Algodoneros in 2024, compiling a 4–0 record and 3.63 ERA with 44 strikeouts across innings of relief.

Legal issues

Torres was arrested in December 2017 and charged with assault with a deadly weapon, criminal damage, and intimidation as a result of a domestic dispute in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torres, Jose 1993 births Living people Algodoneros de Unión Laguna players Arizona League Athletics players Beloit Snappers players Dominican Summer League Athletics players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic El Paso Chihuahuas players Lake Elsinore Storm players Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela 21st-century Venezuelan sportsmen San Antonio Missions players San Diego Padres players Baseball players from Caracas Stockton Ports players Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Mexico Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Vermont Lake Monsters players