José Santiago (2000s pitcher)

José Rafael Santiago Fuentes (born November 5, 1974) is a former Major League Baseball middle relief pitcher. Listed at 6' 3" [1.90 m], 200 lb. [91 k], Santiago batted and threw righ-handed. He was born in Fajardo, Puerto Rico.

Santiago was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 70th round of the 1994 Major League Baseball Draft. He debuted with the Royals in 1997, bouncing back and forth between the major league club and the minor leagues until being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2001. The Phillies released him after the 2002 season. In 2003, he played for the Cleveland Indians and in 2004, he signed with the Chicago White Sox organization, though he saw no time in the majors that year. In 2005, he signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets and was called up to the majors in July.

After that, Santiago was a member of the Puerto Rico national team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and joined the Olmecas de Tabasco for the rest of the summer.

In addition to playing for the New Orleans Zephyrs in the Mets farm system In 2008, Santiago pitched for the Gigantes de Carolina Puerto Rico representing team in the Caribbean Series. He then signed with the Dorados de Chihuahua in 2009, finishing the season with a record of 7–11 and an ERA of 5.53. He retired after that season.

In between, Santiago played winter ball with the Cardenales de Lara and Leones del Caracas clubs of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet, or Pura Pelota (VPBL stats)