James Allin Yacabonis (born March 21, 1992) is an American

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 professional ...

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 ...

in the New York Mets organization. He has 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

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

, Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays.

Early life and education

Yacabonis is the son of Maria and James Yacabonis. His grandfather played professional baseball in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. He attended Christian Brothers Academy in

Lincroft, New Jersey Lincroft is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) within Middletown Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States.

. He attended Saint Joseph's University, where he played college baseball on the Saint Joseph's Hawks baseball team.

Career

Baltimore Orioles

The

selected Yacabonis in the 13th round of the

2013 Major League Baseball draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

as the 399th pick overall. He signed and spent 2013 with the

Aberdeen IronBirds The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of the ...

where he was 3–1 with a 1.52 ERA in 29.2 relief innings pitched. In 2014, he pitched for the

Delmarva Shorebirds The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shor ...

and

Frederick Keys The Frederick Keys are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The Keys are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for "Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. A new team masc ...

where he compiled a 1–5 record and 5.03 ERA in 38 games pitched out of the bullpen, and in 2015, he returned to Frederick where he posted a 3–3 record, 4.02 ERA, and 1.71 WHIP in 43 games pitched. Yacabonis spent 2016 with both Frederick and the Bowie Baysox where he was 2–4 with a 2.64 ERA in 50 relief appearances, holding hitters to a .216

batting average against In baseball statistics, batting average against (denoted by BAA or AVG), also known as opponents' batting average (denoted by OBA), is a statistic that measures a pitcher's ability to prevent hits during official at bats. It can alternatively be ...

. He was promoted to the

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

to begin 2017.

2017

Yacabonis was called up to the majors for the first time on June 11, 2017. As he had difficulty finding the strike zone in his first three June 2017 appearances with the Orioles, he was sent back to Norfolk — where as closer he turned in a 0.93 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. He was recalled from Norfolk on July 2, 2017, likely to work in middle relief during his second call-up for the Orioles. He attributes his success in 2017 to his command of a certain pitch. As he says: In his first up after being called back from Norfolk, Yacabonis shut down the Milwaukee Brewers on July 3, 2017 for 3.1 innings. He allowed just one run on three hits, striking out two batters. Of his contribution in the game after being sent back down, Showalter said, ". . Yac was the key. . . we sent him down to get stretched out a little bit and work on some things, shorten up the breaking ball a little bit, and he presented himself well." Yacabonis knocked in the only Orioles' run in the 8–1 loss by grounding out to second base, which scored Rubén Tejada from third in the third inning. He was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk the next day. Yacabonis was recalled September 1, 2017, coming in that day in a scoreless game against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

in the top of 13th inning. He shut down the side to get his first major league win.

2018

After a strong spring training for Yacabonis, where he posted a 3.38 ERA over eight innings, the Orioles optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk March 22, 2018 with the possible intent of developing him into a starting pitcher. Yacabonis had refined his mechanics to take stress off his throwing shoulder. Yacabonis was called up from Triple-A Norfolk to cover the Orioles bullpen April 7, 2018, after the previous night's 14-inning game with the Yankees required nine innings of relief pitching. He was sent back down to Triple-A Norfolk on April 8, 2018, with left-handed pitcher Tanner Scott being called up from there. Yacabonis gave up three earned runs in one inning against the Yankees. Yacabonis was called up from Triple-A Norfolk prior to a May 11 game against Tampa Bay to provide another bullpen arm for the four-game series. After being sent down again to work on his command, he was recalled on June 27 and made his first

career start a day later against the

. Through seven interim starts with disruption in Norfolk, Yacabonis had posted a 1.99 ERA with a 0.884 WHIP. He had a 3.14 ERA overall in Triple-A through that point in the season. He was called up by the Orioles later in the season. He finished the season with a 0–2 record in seven starts (12 games).

2019

In 2019 for the Orioles, Yacabonis pitched to a 1–2 record and a 6.80 ERA over 29 games. Yacabonis was designated for assignment by the Orioles on August 14, 2019. He became a free agent following the 2019 season.

San Diego Padres

On December 19, 2019, Yacabonis signed a minor league deal with the

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 ...

. Yacabonis did not play in a game for the Padres 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, 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 ...

Seattle Mariners

On August 19, 2020, Yacabonis was traded to the

in exchange for cash considerations. On September 9, Yacabonis was selected to the active roster. Yacabonis was designated for assignment by the Mariners on September 15. He elected free agency on October 14, 2020. On December 29, 2020, Yacabonis re-signed with the Mariners organization on a minor league contract. After appearing in 24 games for the Triple-A Tacoma Rainers, posting a 1.72 ERA with 29 strikeouts, Yacabonis had his contract selected on August 28, 2021 by the Mariners. On August 30, Yacabonis was designated for assignment by the Mariners without making an appearance. On September 2, Yacabonis cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Tacoma. On October 13, Yacabonis elected free agency.

Miami Marlins

On March 12, 2022, Yacabonis signed a minor league contract with the Miami Marlins. On June 15, the Marlins selected Yacabonis' contract. He was designated for assignment on July 30, 2022.

Tampa Bay Rays

On August 4, 2022, the Tampa Bay Rays claimed Yacabonis off waivers from the Marlins. On August 18, Yacabonis was designated for assignment. He elected free agency on November 10, 2022.

New York Mets

On December 1, 2022, Yacabonis signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets. https://www.milb.com/player/jimmy-yacabonis-642231

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yacabonis, Jimmy 1992 births Living people Aberdeen IronBirds players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from New Jersey Bowie Baysox players Christian Brothers Academy (New Jersey) alumni Delmarva Shorebirds players Frederick Keys players Major League Baseball pitchers Miami Marlins players Norfolk Tides players Peoria Javelinas players Saint Joseph's Hawks baseball players Seattle Mariners players Sportspeople from Elizabeth, New Jersey Tacoma Rainiers players Tampa Bay Rays players