Jorge Julio

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (May 2008)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

**Jorge Julio**

Free Agent — No. --
Relief pitcher
Born: March 3, 1979 (1979-03-03) (age 29) Caracas, Venezuela
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
April 26, 2001 for the Baltimore Orioles
Selected MLB statistics (through 2008)
Win-Loss	13-33
Saves	99
Earned run average	4.40
Strikeouts	416
Teams
Baltimore Orioles (2001-2005) New York Mets (2006) Arizona Diamondbacks (2006) Florida Marlins (2007) Colorado Rockies (2007) Cleveland Indians (2008)

Jorge Dandys (Tapia) Julio (born March 3, 1979 in Caracas, Venezuela) is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher who is currently a free agent. He previously played for the Baltimore Orioles from 2001–2005, New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks in 2006, and the Florida Marlins in 2007 before being traded to the Rockies for Byung-Hyun Kim. He had a brieft stint with the Cleveland Indians in 2008. He bats and throws right-handed.

Julio depends primarily on his fastball, which he throws at least 75 percent of the time.^{[citation needed]} He throws both a four-seam and a two-seam fastball in the 95-99 MPH range and has been known to hit triple digits from time to time. He also has a downward-breaking slider, which comes in at between 86-90 MPH and occasionally throws a changeup as well.

Julio's first full season in the majors was 2002 with Baltimore. He went 5–6, posting a 1.99 ERA with 25 saves and 55 strikeouts in 68 innings. He finished third in the American League Rookie of the Year voting with 1 second-place vote and 11 third-place votes. He was unable to duplicate his rookie season success and eventually lost his job as the Orioles closer to B. J. Ryan at the end of 2004. Julio began 2005 as the set-up man for Ryan. During April of that season, he allowed just one earned run in 12 ⅔ innings pitched. But his performance declined and he finished the season 3–5 with a 5.90 ERA in 67 appearances.

On January 21, 2006, Julio was dealt to the Mets with pitching prospect John Maine in exchange for Kris Benson. He began the season in the Mets bullpen but was traded to the Diamondbacks May 24, 2006 for Orlando Hernández. He replaced José Valverde as the Arizona closer and saved 15 games in 19 opportunities before losing the closer job to Valverde in early September.

On March 26, 2007, Julio was traded to the Marlins for Yusmeiro Petit and was named their closer coming out of spring training. But after failing to record a save in three opportunities, he was removed from the closer role in mid-April. On May 12, 2007, in his last outing as a Marlin, he gave up a walk-off grand slam to Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals. He was traded to the Rockies for Byung-Hyun Kim the following day. He pitched in both a middle relief and a set-up role for Colorado, appearing in 58 games and posting an 0–3 record with a 3.93 ERA for the Rockies.

During the 2007–2008 off-season, Julio was granted free agency in October, signed a minor-league deal with the Cleveland Indians on January 31, 2008 and was invited to their spring training camp. His contract was purchased by the team on March 25, 2008 and he was on their opening day roster. However, after 15 generally ineffective relief appearances, he was designated for assignment on May 28, 2008 and was later released on June 2. He posted a 0–0 record and 5.60 ERA in those 15 appearances.