Raidel Martínez Perez (born October 11, 1996) is a Cuban

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

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

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They h ...

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). He has previously played in NPB for the

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011 ...

Professional career

Chunichi Dragons

On February 26, 2017, Martínez signed with the

. After spending the 2017 season with the club's farm team, Martínez recorded his first NPB victory on May 15, 2018, in a win over the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda ...

. However, he struggled to a 6.65 ERA in 7 games. In 2019, Martínez recorded a stellar 2.66 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 43 appearances. In 2020, he pitched to a 1.13 ERA in 40 innings across 40 appearances. On May 27, 2022, Martínez made his first NPB All-Star appearance at Matsuyama Central Park Baseball Stadium. He took the mound in the eighth inning and allowed one hit but kept one scoreless inning. Martínez made 60 appearances out of the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

for Chunichi in 2024, compiling a 2–3 record and 1.09 ERA with 59 strikeouts and 43 saves across 58 innings pitched.

Yomiuri Giants

On December 16, 2024, Martínez signed with the

International career

Martínez previously pitched for Vegueros de Pinar del Rio in the

Cuban National Series The Cuban National Series (, or SNB) is a domestic baseball competition in Cuba. Formed after the dissolution of the Cuban League in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, the National Series is a part of the Cuban baseball league system. For most ...

. Martinez played for the

Cuba national baseball team The Cuba national baseball team () represents Cuba at regional and international levels. The team is generally made up of players from the domestic Cuban national baseball system, though it has at times included professional players who defect ...

at the

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts wer ...

and the

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball tournament and the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It began on March 8, 2023, and ran until March 21. It was originally scheduled to take place in ...

References

External links

*
NPB
1996 births Living people Baseball players at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games silver medalists for Cuba Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in baseball Baseball players at the 2019 Pan American Games Chunichi Dragons players Cuban expatriate baseball players in Japan Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Pan American Games competitors for Cuba Baseball players from Pinar del Río Tigres de Ciego de Avila players Vegueros de Pinar del Rio players Yomiuri Giants players 2017 World Baseball Classic players 2023 World Baseball Classic players {{Cuba-baseball-pitcher-stub