Edward José Mujica (; born May 10, 1984) is a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n former

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pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

, Florida/Miami Marlins,

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 (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

, Oakland Athletics and Detroit Tigers.

Career

Cleveland Indians

Mujica originally signed with the Indians as an undrafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in October, 2001. He quickly became one of the top pitching prospects in the Cleveland organization. Mujica began his career as a starter with San Felipe, Burlington and Lake County in 2002, 2003, and 2004. He became a full-time reliever in 2005, and dominated the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

as the closer with the

Kinston Indians The Kinston Indians were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League (CL) located in Kinston, North Carolina, from 1978 to 2011. They played their home games at Grainger Stadium, which opened in 1949. The team began play in 1978 as the Ki ...

, earning a 2.08

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

, 14 saves, 32 strikeouts and just two walks in 26 innings before being promoted to Double-A

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

. He continued his dominance with the Aeros, going 2–1 with 10 saves, a 2.88 ERA, 33 strikeouts, and only five walks in innings. Mujica began 2006 in Akron, where he recorded eight saves without surrendering an

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

, 17 strikeouts, and nine walks in 19 innings before getting promoted to Triple-A Buffalo. For Buffalo, he was 3–1 with five saves, a 2.48 ERA, 29 strikeouts, and five walks in innings. He made his major league debut with Cleveland on June 21, . Mujica did not surrender an earned run in 2006 until his fourth appearance with the Indians, on July 14, a streak of consecutive innings (19 for Akron, for Buffalo and for Cleveland). Edward Mujica

San Diego Padres

On April 1, 2009, Mujica was traded to the

for future considerations. Mujica was awarded the win in the first ever regular season game at

Citi Field Citi Field is a baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in New York City, United States. It opened in 2009 and is the home field of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. The stadium was built as a replacement for the adjacent ...

against the

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on April 13, 2009.

Florida/Miami Marlins

Following the 2010 season, Mujica was traded with Ryan Webb to the Marlins for

Cameron Maybin Cameron Keith Maybin (born April 4, 1987) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and current broadcaster. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Florida / Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Brave ...

. In 2011, Mujica appeared in 67 games, finished with a 9-6 record, had 63 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.96. On June 30, 2012, Mujica was placed on the 15-day disabled list after a line drive from opponent

Plácido Polanco Plácido Enrique Polanco (; born October 10, 1975) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers and Miami Marlins. He was a ...

struck the fifth toe on his right foot; X-rays confirmed a fractured toe.

St. Louis Cardinals

On July 31, 2012, Mujica was traded to the

for minor league third baseman Zack Cox. He was used primarily in the 7th inning of games for the team. In 2013, when the Cardinals closer Jason Motte was injured and set-up man Mitchell Boggs lost his effectiveness, Mujica became the new closer (around mid-April) and began collecting saves in his new role. On July 14, 2013, it was confirmed that Mujica would replace fellow Cardinal Adam Wainwright in the 2013 All Star Game, who had pitched two nights before against the Chicago Cubs. It was Mujica's first All Star Game appearance of his career. He was not called on to pitch, however. He became a

after the

2013 World Series The 2013 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2013 season. The 109th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the National Le ...

on October 31, 2013.

Boston Red Sox

On December 5, 2013, Mujica agreed to a two-year, $9.5 million contract with the

, pending the completion of a physical examination. The contract became official on December 7. He was designated for assignment by Boston on May 8, 2015.

Oakland Athletics

On May 9, 2015, he was traded to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

or cash.

Philadelphia Phillies

On December 17, 2015, Mujica signed a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, receiving an invitation to spring training. He was released on March 29, 2016 and re-signed a day later. He was released on July 14 after requesting his release. He posted an ERA of 3.69 in 39 innings at the AAA level.

Kansas City Royals

On July 15, 2016, Mujica signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals. He was released on August 10.

Minnesota Twins

On August 19, 2016, Mujica signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins. On August 20, he was assigned to AAA Rochester.

Detroit Tigers

On January 10, 2017, Mujica signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers that included an invitation to spring training. On August 3, he was recalled from the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

by Detroit to replace

Michael Fulmer Michael Joseph Fulmer (born March 15, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the g ...

, who was placed on the 10-day disabled list. At the time of his recall, Mujica had appeared in 46 games for Toledo, posting a 1–1 record, 12 saves, and a 2.35 ERA in 46 innings. On August 13, 2017, the Tigers designated Mujica for assignment.

Second stint in St. Louis

On January 31, 2018, Mujica signed a minor league contract to return to the

. He became a free agent after the season ended.

Leones de Yucatan

Mujica spent the 2019 season with the Leones de Yucatan of the

Mexican Baseball League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five t ...

and he became a free agent after the season.

Pitching style

Mujica is mainly a two-pitch pitcher, utilizing a

four-seam fastball A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the hardest (i.e., fastest) ball thrown by a pitcher. It is c ...

at 90-93 mph and a splitter at 86-89. He also has a two-seam fastball in the same velocity range as his four-seamer, and a

slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

in the low 80s. Lefties see a very heavy diet of splitters; in 2011, they constituted more than half of the pitches he threw to left-handers. Right-handed hitters tend to see a greater assortment of pitches, including the slider (which Mujica rarely uses against lefties).

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mujica, Edward 1984 births Living people Akron Aeros players Boston Red Sox players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Burlington Indians players (1986–2006) Caribes de Anzoátegui players Caribes de Oriente players Cleveland Indians players Detroit Tigers players Florida Marlins players Jupiter Hammerheads players Kinston Indians players Lake County Captains players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Memphis Redbirds players Miami Marlins players National League All-Stars Navegantes del Magallanes players Oakland Athletics players Omaha Storm Chasers players Rochester Red Wings players San Diego Padres players Sportspeople from Valencia, Venezuela St. Louis Cardinals players Toledo Mud Hens players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States