| Raúl Valdés | |
|---|---|
| Philadelphia Phillies – No. -- | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: November 27, 1977 Havana, Cuba |
|
| Bats: Left | Throws: Left |
| MLB debut | |
| April 11, 2010 for the New York Mets | |
| Career statistics (through 2011) |
|
| Win-loss record | 3–4 |
| Earned run average | 4.78 |
| Strikeouts | 63 |
| WHIP | 1.50 |
| Teams | |
Raúl Valdés (born November 27, 1977 in Havana, Cuba) is a Cuban professional baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball.
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In 2003, Valdés defected from Cuba, where he was a member of the Cuban National team. He signed with the Chicago Cubs as a non-drafted free agent in 2004, and was assigned to the Cubs farm team of the Dominican Summer League. He posted a 7–2 record with a 0.51 earned run average in 16 games for the Dominican Cubs, holding the opponents to a .127 batting average. He also saw action as an outfielder, batting .241 with 12 doubles and 26 runs batted in in 50 games, and was selected for the DSL Post-Season All-Star.
Valdés opened 2005 with Double-A West Tenn, but was promoted rapidly to Triple-A Iowa on May 9. He went 2–0 in five starts, struck out 18 batters and issued just three walks over 23 innings of work for West Tenn. While in Iowa, he was 6–7 with a save in 25 appearances (17 starts), working six or more innings in six of his starts, ending 5–0 with a 2.15 ERA in those outings.
In 2006, Valdés dropped to 1–3 with a 7.59 ERA in 32 innings for Iowa before being released.
Valdés joined the independent Can-Am League, going 2–1 with a 5.09 ERA in four games for the Nashua Pride and 7–3 with a 2.81 ERA in 17 games, including 12 starts, for the New Jersey Jackals.
He signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets after the end of the season. Valdés started 2007 with High-A St. Lucie and later was promoted to Double-A Binghamton. He combined for a 0–2 record with a 4.17 ERA and one save in 23 games (one start), before being released.
Since 2008, Valdés has pitched winter baseball for the Gigantes del Cibao of the Dominican League and Navegantes del Magallanes of the Venezuelan League. He represented the Dominican team in the 2010 Caribbean Series, in which he led all pitchers in wins (two) and strikeouts (13) and was selected to the All-Star Team.
Valdés was invited to spring training with the Mets in 2010. He was sent to Triple-A Buffalo to start the season, but was quickly promoted to the major leagues.[1]
On May 11, 2010, Valdés got his first major league victory in an 8–6 win over the Nationals.
On July 6, 2010, Valdés was called back as the Mets placed Fernando Tatís on the 15-day disabled list.[2]
On August 13, 2010, Valdés was optioned to AAA along with Ryota Igarashi to make room for Pat Misch and Francisco Rodriguez.
On November 5, 2010, Valdés was sent down to the minors to Triple-A Buffalo and became a free-agent after refusing the minor league assignment.
Valdés signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the St. Louis Cardinals.[3] Valdés made seven appearances for St. Louis, pitching in 5.1 innings and allowing two earned runs on six hits. He was designated for assignment on August 12, 2011.[4]
On August 16, Valdés was claimed off waivers by the New York Yankees.[5] On August 18, he was assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.[6] Valdes declared for free agency on October 11.[7]
On November 10, 2011, Valdez signed a minor league contract with an invite to spring training with the Philadelphia Phillies.