José Pirela

José Pirela

Pirela with the New York Yankees
Free agent
Infielder
Born: (1989-11-21) November 21, 1989
Valera, Trujillo, Venezuela
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 22, 2014, for the New York Yankees
MLB statistics
(through 2016 season)
Batting average .226
Home runs 1
Runs batted in 8
Teams

José Manuel Pirela (born November 21, 1989) is a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder who is currently a free agent. He previously played for the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres.

Professional career

Minor Leagues

Pirela signed with the New York Yankees as an international free agent, receiving a $300,000 signing bonus.[1] He made his professional debut with the Yankees in 2007 for the Dominican Summer League Yankees 1. He reached Triple-A for the first time in 2013. After the season he played for the Aguilas del Zulia of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League.[2][3][4][5]

Pirela batting for the Trenton Thunder in 2013

Pirela began the 2014 season with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of the Class AAA International League.[6] He ended the International League season with a .303 batting average, 10 home runs, and 60 runs batted in (RBIs). He was named a postseason All-Star.

New York Yankees

On September 16, 2014, the Yankees promoted Pirela to the major leagues.[7] He made his major league debut on September 22, hitting a triple in his first at-bat, and a single later in the game.[8] In seven games with the Yankees in 2014, he batted .333 with two triples and three RBIs. He was pinch-run for by Antoan Richardson on September 25th. Richardson then scored the game winning run on a walk-off single by Derek Jeter in the Yankee captain's last at-bat at Yankee Stadium.

Pirela suffered a concussion on March 22, 2015, in a spring training game against the New York Mets while playing center field. He ran into the outfield wall while chasing a ball hit by Juan Lagares.[9] On April 2, 2015, he was placed on the 7-day disabled list to begin the season due to his concussion. A week later, he was transferred to the 15-day disabled list. He was activated on May 6. On June 7, he hit his first major league home run against the Los Angeles Angels.[10] He batted .256 with 1 RBI in 18 games before he was optioned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on June 10.[11]

San Diego Padres

On November 11, 2015, the Yankees traded Pirela to the San Diego Padres for minor league pitcher Ronald Herrera.[12] He began the 2016 season with the El Paso Chihuahuas of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League, and was promoted to the Padres on April 22.[13]

References

  1. John DeMarzo (July 25, 2014). "Offensively challenged Yanks could turn to utilityman Pirela | New York Post". Nypost.com. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  2. "Fill Account: Jose Pirela's passion". Ultimasnoticias.com.ve. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  3. "Jose Pirela, no chance to win the MVP". Laverdad.com. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  4. "Jose Pirela: "What I want is to be in the lineup". Laverdad.com. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  5. Pedro Moreira. "Jose Pirela puts his bat to order for the Caribbean Series". El-nacional.com. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  6. "The next in line?". Timesleader.com. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  7. Kuty, Brendan (September 16, 2014). "Yankees' Martin Prado done for year, Jose Pirela called up". NJ.com. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  8. "Pirela gets two hits, RBI in big league debut". New York Yankees. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  9. Jamal Collier (March 22, 2015). "Pirela suffers concussion in collision with center-field wall". MLB.com. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  10. "Yankees' Jose Pirela hits first career home run in win". Daily News. New York. June 7, 2015.
  11. "New York Yankees". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
  12. "Los Yanquis cambiaron a José Pirela a los Padres de San Diego". El Universal (in Spanish). November 11, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
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