Justin Douglas O'Conner (born March 31, 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 ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

for the

Rieleros de Aguascalientes The Rieleros de Aguascalientes (English: Aguascalientes Railroaders) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Aguascalientes, Mexico. History Baseball arrived in Aguascalientes in hand with the railroad at the beginning o ...

of the

Mexican 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 te ...

. He was drafted 31st overall in the

2010 Major League Baseball draft The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pi ...

by the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

Career

Tampa Bay Rays

O'Conner attended Cowan High School in

Cowan, Indiana Cowan is an unincorporated community in Monroe Township, Delaware County, Indiana. History Cowan was founded in 1869, when the railroad was extended to that point. It was named for Charles McCowan, a longtime resident who donated funds to build ...

. He was drafted by the

in the first round, 31st overall, of the

2010 Major League Baseball Draft The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pi ...

. He made his professional debut that season with the

Gulf Coast Rays The Florida Complex League Rays are a minor league baseball team in Port Charlotte, Florida, competing as a Rookie-level team in the Florida Complex League as an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coa ...

. He played in only 48 games for the rookie-level

Princeton Rays The Princeton Rays were a Minor League Baseball team in Princeton, West Virginia, operating as an Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League. The team was affiliated with several Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises, primarily the Ta ...

in 2011 after suffering a torn hip labrum. He played for the Low-A

Hudson Valley Renegades Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson R ...

in 2012, batting .223/.276/.370 in 59 games. O'Conner played in 102 games for the Single-A

Bowling Green Hot Rods The Bowling Green Hot Rods are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and play their home games at Bowling Green Ballpark, which open ...

in 2013, slashing .233/.290/.381 with 14 home runs and 56 RBI. After the season, he played in the

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it ...

. O'Conner started 2014 with the

Charlotte Stone Crabs The Charlotte Stone Crabs were a Minor League Baseball team located in Port Charlotte, Florida, from 2009 to 2020. They competed in the Florida State League (FSL) as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

. He was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game in July. O'Conner finished the 2014 season with a slash of .278/.316/.466 with 12 home runs and 47 RBI in 101 total games between Charlotte and the Double-A

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

. O'Conner was selected to the 40-man roster following the season on November 20, 2014. In 2015, O'Conner returned to Montgomery, playing in 107 games and batting .231/.255/.371 with 9 home runs and 53 RBI. O'Conner missed almost all of the 2016 season due to injury trouble, playing in only 20 total games. On December 12, 2016, O'Conner was designated for assignment by the Rays. He was outrighted to Triple-A on December 16. O'Conner split the 2017 season between Montgomery and the Triple-A

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

, hitting a cumulative .227/.288/.372 with 8 home runs and 44 RBI in 85 games between the two teams. He elected free agency on November 6, 2017.

San Francisco Giants

On January 25, 2018, O'Conner signed a minor league deal with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

. He was released on March 26, 2018. After his release from the Giants organization, on April 4, 2018, O'Conner was suspended 50 games after testing positive a second time for a drug of abuse.

St. Paul Saints

On April 16, 2018, O'Conner signed with the St. Paul Saints of the independent

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

. O'Conner played in 82 games for St. Paul in 2018, posting a slash of .250/.292/.459 with 17 home runs and 41 RBI.

Chicago White Sox

On January 22, 2019, O'Conner's contract was purchased by 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. O'Conner had converted to pitching for the 2019 season. O'Conner made 14 appearances for the rookie-level AZL White Sox and Single-A

Kannapolis Intimidators Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan counties, in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte and is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The city of Kannapolis was incorporated in 1984. The ...

, pitching to a 4.50 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 14.0 innings pitched. He elected free agency following the season on November 4.

New York Yankees

On December 14, 2019, O'Conner signed a minor league contract with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

organization. O'Conner 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, 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 ...

. O'Conner did appear for any Yankees affiliate in 2021 due to injury. He elected free agency following the season on November 7, 2021, without having appeared in a game for the Yankees organization.

Staten Island FerryHawks

On June 14, 2022, O'Conner signed with the

Staten Island FerryHawks The Staten Island FerryHawks are an American minor-league professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Staten Island. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner leag ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He played in 24 games for the FerryHawks down the stretch, hitting .270/.321/.419 with 2 home runs and 16 RBI. He became a free agent following the season. On March 7, 2023, O'Conner re-signed with the FerryHawks for the 2023 season. He played in only 7 games, going 5-for-21 (.238) with no home runs and 1 RBI before he was released on May 12.

Charleston Dirty Birds

On May 19, 2023, O'Conner signed with the

Charleston Dirty Birds The Charleston Dirty Birds are an American professional baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a partner league of Major League Baseball. The ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. In 87 games for Charleston, O'Conner batted .263/.336/.457 with 12 home runs, 46 RBI, and 5 stolen bases.

Rieleros de Aguascalientes

On January 18, 2024, O'Conner signed with the

Cleburne Railroaders The Cleburne Railroaders are a professional baseball team based in Cleburne, Texas, that plays in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. The team, which began play in 2017, plays i ...

of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

. However, on January 28, O'Conner signed with the

of the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:OConner, Justin 1992 births Living people Sportspeople from Muncie, Indiana Baseball players from Indiana Gulf Coast Rays players Princeton Rays players Hudson Valley Renegades players Bowling Green Hot Rods players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Brisbane Bandits players Peoria Javelinas players Montgomery Biscuits players Durham Bulls players St. Paul Saints players Staten Island FerryHawks players American expatriate baseball players in Australia Charleston Dirty Birds players