Manuel Bañuelos (born 13 March 1991) is a Mexican 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

Sultanes de Monterrey The Sultanes de Monterrey (English: Monterrey Sultans) are a professional baseball club in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Monterrey, Mexico. Established in 1939 as Carta Blanca, the Sultanes have won ten LMB titles, most recently in 2018. Fro ...

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

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

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 ...

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

, and

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 ...

. He has also played in the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

(CPBL) for the

Fubon Guardians The Fubon Guardians () are a professional baseball team in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in Taiwan. The team is owned by Fubon Financial Holding Co. and play their home games at Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium in New Taipei City. ...

and

Rakuten Monkeys The Rakuten Monkeys (), formerly known as La New Bears (2004–2010) and Lamigo Monkeys (2011–2019), are a professional baseball team in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in Taiwan. Owned and administered by the Japanese technol ...

, and in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB) for the

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping ...

Career

New York Yankees

In 2008, the

signed four players, including Bañuelos and

Alfredo Aceves Alfredo Aceves Martínez (born 8 December 1982) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. Aceves used a fastball, which could reach the mid 90s, a ...

, from the

for $450,000. Bañuelos participated in the

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League- ...

in 2009. Bañuelos missed some time during the 2010 season with an appendectomy. In 2010, Bañuelos split time between the High–A

Tampa Yankees Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the county seat of Hillsborough C ...

and the Double–A

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the D ...

. Bañuelos played for the Phoenix Desert Dogs in 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 ...

after the 2010 season. earning the start in the team's all-star game. Before the 2010 season, he was rated as the Yankees sixth best prospect according to ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

'', and in 2011 he was rated as the fourth best. He was also one of the top 50 overall prospects according to

MLB.com MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (a subsidiary of MLB). MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports colum ...

. In 2011, Bañuelos was invited to spring training with the Yankees for the first time.

Mariano Rivera Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian Americans, Panamanian-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed "Mo" and " ...

said that he believed Bañuelos was the best pitching prospect he had seen. He won the James P. Dawson Award, given annually to the best rookie in camp. He began the 2011 season with Trenton was promoted to the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders, are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the S ...

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 ...

on 2 August. Bañuelos was again invited to spring training in 2012. After struggling through injuries during the 2012 season, Bañuelos was shut down in August. He underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

in October and missed the entire 2013 season. He returned to pitch for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2014.

Atlanta Braves

On 1 January 2015, the Yankees traded Bañuelos to the

for pitchers David Carpenter and

Chasen Shreve Chasen Dean Shreve (born July 12, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, N ...

. He was invited to spring training, and assigned to the

Gwinnett Braves The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevi ...

of the International League on 27 March. The Braves promoted Bañuelos to the major leagues on 2 July 2015. In his debut that day, he pitched innings and recorded seven strikeouts and no earned runs against the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

. He ended the outing by hitting

Denard Span Keiunta Denard Span (born February 27, 1984) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals, San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays and Seattle Mar ...

and Danny Espinosa and was removed from the game due to cramping and dehydration. Later that month, tests revealed that Bañuelos had a bone spur. He was sent to the minors for rest and rehabilitation, before a second callup in September. The bone spur continued to bother him, and Bañuelos underwent surgery to remove it on 17 September. In 2016, Bañuelos contended for a spot in the rotation in spring training. However, on 22 March, he began to feel discomfort in his pitching elbow and underwent an MRI that uncovered no irregularities. The team placed Bañuelos in extended spring training until May, when he was cleared to join Gwinnett after a one-game rehab assignment with the low A

Rome Braves The Rome Emperors are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They are located in Rome, Georgia, and play their home games at AdventHealth Stadium. From 2003 to 2023, the team wa ...

. On 23 May 2016, he was optioned to Gwinnett. The Braves demoted him to the

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they were referred to locally, were a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson, from 2005 to 2024. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and competed in ...

of the Double-A Southern League. Bañuelos was designated for assignment on 12 August.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

On 21 August 2016, Bañuelos signed a minor league contract with the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

. In 2017, he pitched for the

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team that plays in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Based in South Jordan, Utah, the team plays its home games at The Ballpark at Am ...

of the Triple-A

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

, making 39 appearances and logging a 5–6 record and 4.93 ERA with 85 strikeouts across 95 innings. Bañuelos elected free agency following the season on 6 November 2017.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On 17 November 2017, Bañuelos signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

. He was assigned to the

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Comets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their ho ...

of the PCL for the 2018 season and was selected to represent the PCL at 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 ...

and was also selected to the post-season PCL All-Star Team. He made 31 appearances, with 18 starts and posted a 3.73 ERA with nine wins and seven losses.

Chicago White Sox

On 1 November 2018, the Dodgers traded Bañuelos to the

in exchange for minor league infielder Justin Yurchak. The White Sox added him to the 40 man roster. The White Sox promoted him to the major leagues as a

long reliever A long reliever or long-relief pitcher is a relief pitcher in baseball who enters the game if the starting pitcher leaves the game early. Long relievers often enter in the first three innings of a game when the starting pitcher cannot continue, w ...

and

spot starter This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See #count, coun ...

. He gave up nine runs, all of them earned, to the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

in a single inning during a home game on 4 May 2019, exiting the game with a 30.34 ERA. On 28 October, the White Sox outrighted Bañuelos off of the roster. He elected free agency following the season.

Seattle Mariners

On 2 February 2020, Bañuelos signed a minor league deal with the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

. He did not play in a game for the organization 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 ...

. Bañuelos was released by the Mariners organization on 28 May.

Fubon Guardians

On 18 June 2020, Bañuelos signed with the

of the

. He posted a 6–3 record, 2.60 ERA, and 62 strikeouts across 9 starts in his first season with the club. On 17 December 2020, Bañuelos re-signed with the Guardians for the 2021 season. He was released on 5 July 2021, in order to play with

Team Mexico Team Mexico is a professional wrestling stable that was first formed in 2004 to compete in TNA Wrestling's America's X-Cup Tournament and has since returned to compete in other TNA X Cup Tournaments. History 2004 The original team consisted of ...

at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

(contested in 2021). He finished the 2021 season with a 2.94 ERA and 1.33 WHIP over 49 innings pitched.

Sultanes de Monterrey

On 13 July 2021, Bañuelos signed with the

of the

. In 3 games (2 starts) for the Sultanes, Bañuelos posted a 1-0 record and 1.80 ERA with 11 strikeouts over 10 innings of work.

New York Yankees (second stint)

On 10 January 2022, Bañuelos signed a minor league contract with the

organization. He began the 2022 season with the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders, are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pen ...

, and had a 2.35 ERA through innings. The Yankees promoted him to the major leagues on 26 May. Bañuelos pitched in four games for the Yankees, recording a 2.16 ERA. The Yankees designated him for assignment on 28 June to make room on the active roster for

JP Sears Jonathan Patrick Sears, known online as AwakenWithJP, is an American conservative YouTube comedian. Sears produces satirical YouTube videos where he parodies lifestyle gurus, wellness coaches, and government policies. Biography JP Sears was ...

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Yankees traded Bañuelos to the

for cash considerations on 3 July 2022. On 15 November, Bañuelos 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 ...

by the Pirates after they protected multiple prospects from 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 18 November, he was non–tendered and became a free agent.

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

On 8 December 2022, Bañuelos signed with the

. He made only one appearance for the team, surrendering six runs on four hits and two walks in just of an inning. Bañuelos became a free agent following the season.

Rakuten Monkeys

On 19 January 2024, Bañuelos signed a one–year contract with the

of the

. In 15 starts for Rakuten, he compiled a 9–4 record and 4.15 ERA with 70 strikeouts across innings pitched. Bañuelos was released by the Monkeys on 17 August.

Sultanes de Monterrey (second stint)

On 4 March 2025, Bañuelos signed with the

of the

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Banuelos, Manny 1991 births Living people Arizona League White Sox players Atlanta Braves players Baseball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Baseball players from Durango Charleston RiverDogs players Charlotte Knights players Chicago White Sox players Fubon Guardians players Gulf Coast Braves players Gulf Coast Yankees players Gwinnett Braves players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Mexico 21st-century Mexican sportsmen Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States Mississippi Braves players New York Yankees players Oklahoma City Dodgers players Olympic baseball players for Mexico Sportspeople from Gómez Palacio, Durango Phoenix Desert Dogs players Pittsburgh Pirates players Rakuten Monkeys players Rome Braves players Salt Lake Bees players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Tampa Yankees players Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles players Tomateros de Culiacán players Trenton Thunder players Winston-Salem Dash players Charros de Jalisco players Mexican expatriate baseball players in Taiwan