Javier Eduardo Assad Ramírez (born July 30, 1997) is a Mexican professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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for the

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(MLB).

Early life, family and education

Assad was born and raised in

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

, Mexico. While playing Little League Baseball as a youth, he was teammates with future professional baseball player Alfonso Rivas. (Assad and Rivas became teammates on the

following Assad's promotion in 2022.)

Career

Assad signed with the

as an international free agent on July 27, 2015. He made his professional debut with the rookie-level Arizona League Cubs in 2016, pitching to a 2.87 ERA in 10 games. He spent the 2017 season with the Low-A Eugene Emeralds, logging a 5–6 record and 4.23 ERA with 72 strikeouts in 13 starts. He pitched in 23 games (21 starts) for the Single-A

South Bend Cubs The South Bend Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in South Bend, Indiana, and play their home games at Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium. The team w ...

in 2018, registering a 5–7 record and 4.40 ERA with 89 strikeouts in innings of work. On May 3, 2019, while playing for the High-A

Myrtle Beach Pelicans The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs of the National League in Major League Baseball. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games a ...

, Assad attempted to field a push bunt from Marco Hernández of the

Salem Red Sox The Salem Red Sox are a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB), based in Salem, Virginia, Salem, an independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia. The team competes at the Single-A level in the Car ...

, but dropped the ball on the transfer. In an attempt to save the play, Assad kicked the ball towards first base, where

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Cam Balego caught it to record an out. A video of the play would go viral on

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. In 22 starts for Myrtle Beach in 2019, Assad posted a 4–10 record and 3.87 ERA with 91 strikeouts in innings pitched. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Assad spent the 2021 season with the Double-A

Tennessee Smokies The Knoxville Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The team was based in Kodak, Tennessee, a Knoxville suburb, fr ...

, recording a 4–8 record and 5.32 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 93 innings pitched. He began the 2022 season with Tennessee before being promoted to the Triple-A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

. In 23 combined appearances (21 starts) Assad excelled to the tune of a 5–3 record and 2.66 ERA with 111 strikeouts in innings of work. On August 23, 2022, Assad was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut that night in a spot start against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

. On September 12, Assad earned his first career victory after allowing 1 run on 5 hits and 3 walks across 6 innings of work against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

. In 2024, the

Marquee Sports Network Marquee Sports Network is a regional sports network operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group and the Chicago Cubs, launched on February 22, 2020. It replaced a trio of channels (cable channel NBC Sports Chicago and broadcast partners WLS-TV and WGN S ...

considered Assad to have "developed into" a "crucial piece" for the Cubs, after previously being an overlooked pitcher. Assad was placed on the injured list to begin the 2025 season due to oblique soreness. On April 25, 2025, Assad was shut down due to a Grade 2 strain of his left oblique. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list on April 30.

International career

Assad played for Team Mexico in 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 ...

. In the Quarterfinal Game against

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

on March 12, 2023, Assad threw scoreless innings in relief.

Personal life

On February 11, 2022, Assad married Melissa.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Assad, Javier 1997 births Living people Baseball players from Tijuana Major League Baseball players from Mexico 21st-century Mexican sportsmen Major League Baseball pitchers Chicago Cubs players Arizona League Cubs players Eugene Emeralds players South Bend Cubs players Myrtle Beach Pelicans players Naranjeros de Hermosillo players Tennessee Smokies players Iowa Cubs players 2023 World Baseball Classic players World Baseball Classic players of Mexico