Erik González (born August 31, 1991) is a Dominican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

organization. He has previously 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 (A ...

(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) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

and

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fra ...

Career

Cleveland Indians

Originally signed by the

as a free agent in 2008, he began his professional career with the rookie-level Indians squads, where he played through the 2011 season. He was promoted to the

Mahoning Valley Scrappers The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Niles, Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River, and play their home games at Eastwood Field. From 1999 to 2020, they were ...

in 2012, and finished the year with a .220

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

in 60 games. He was then promoted to the

Lake County Captains The Lake County Captains are a Minor League Baseball team in Eastlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, that plays in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The Captains joined the Class A Midwest League following ...

and

Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and play their home games at Five County Stadium. ...

in 2013. After the 2013 season, MiLB.com named González the best

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system u ...

in the Indians minor league system. He was added to the Indians'

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

following the season. In 2014, he split the season with the Mudcats and the Akron RubberDucks; with the RubberDucks he had a .357 batting average in 31 games, and was named to the Midwest League All-Star roster while with the Mudcats, hitting .289 in 74 games. In 2015, he split the season between the RubberDucks and the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy merchant sailing vessels known as cli ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

. González began the 2016 season with Columbus, and appeared in the

Triple-A All-Star Game The Triple-A All-Star Game was an annual baseball game held from 1988 to 2019 between professional players from the affiliated Triple-A leagues of Minor League Baseball. These leagues were the International League (IL) and Pacific Coast League ...

. He was promoted to the major leagues on July 14, 2016. He finished the season in the major leagues with a .313 batting average in 21 games, and a .296 batting average, 11

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, and 12

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe o ...

s with the Clippers in 104 games. In 2018, González played in 81 games for the Indians as a

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player is a player who typically does not have the offensive abilities to justify a regular starting role on the team but is capable of playing more than one defensive position. These players are able to give the various s ...

, averaging .265 from 136

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s with 1 homer and 16

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the b ...

Pittsburgh Pirates

On November 14, 2018, González (along with minor leaguers Tahnaj Thomas and Dante Mendoza) were traded to the

in exchange for Max Moroff and Jordan Luplow. In a game on April 19, 2019, González was chasing after a fly ball and collided with outfielder

Starling Marte Starling Javier Marte (born October 9, 1988) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Arizona Diamondbacks, Miami Marlins, a ...

. Marte had to be carted off of the field and González suffered a fractured left clavicle, and was placed on the 60-day injured list the next day. In a shortened 2020 season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, González batted .227/.255/.359 with 3 home runs and 20 RBI in 50 games. On August 7, 2021, González was designated for assignment by the Pirates. On August 10, González cleared waivers and was outrighted to the Triple-A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which opened ...

. On October 13, González elected free agency.

Miami Marlins

On November 28, 2021, González signed a minor league contract with the

. He began the 2022 season with the

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

and was promoted to the major leagues on May 8. He was designated for assignment on July 3. He elected free agency on November 10, 2022.

Chicago White Sox

On December 29, 2022, González signed a minor league contract with the

organization.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Erik 1991 births Living people Akron RubberDucks players Arizona League Indians players Carolina Mudcats players Cleveland Indians players Columbus Clippers players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Indians players Lake County Captains players Leones del Escogido players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball shortstops Miami Marlins players People from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic Pittsburgh Pirates players Indianapolis Indians players