Yonny Enrique Chirinos Mejias (born December 26, 1993) is a Venezuelan professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

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 ...

for 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 ...

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(MLB).

Career

Minor league career

Chirinos signed with the

for $10,000 as an international free agent from Venezuela in June 2012. He made his professional debut in 2013 with the Venezuelan Summer League Rays and spent the whole season there, pitching to a 3–3 record and 3.27 ERA in 13 games (12 starts). In 2014, he played for the

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 ...

where he compiled a 3–0 record and 2.09 ERA in 14 games, and in 2015, he pitched for 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) ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

, collecting a combined 5–5 record, 1.82 ERA, and 1.02 WHIP in 15 games (13 starts). Chirinos spent 2016 with Bowling Green, Charlotte, and the

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 ...

, pitching to a 12–4 record and 3.36 ERA in 29 games. In 2017, Chirinos played for Montgomery and the

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 ...

. He went 13–5 with a 2.73 ERA and 141

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

and was named the Rays minor league pitcher of the year. The Rays added him to their 40-man roster after the season.

Tampa Bay Rays

On March 25, 2018, the Rays announced that Chirinos had made the Opening Day roster. Chirinos made his opening debut in a long relief role against the

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 ...

on April 1. He worked four scoreless innings while allowing just one hit. Chirinos set a franchise record by pitching his first 14 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run. On May 1, Chirinos was placed on the

10-day disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...

with a right forearm strain. He was activated from the

on June 4 but was optioned to Triple-A

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. On July 24, the Rays recalled Chirinos to start against 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 ...

. In his return, Chirinos pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on six hits. In 18 games, 7 starts, he finished 5–5 in innings. The following season, Chirinos split time between the bullpen and the rotation, appearing in 26 games (18 starts). He finished with a 9–5 record in innings. On August 21, 2020, it was announced that Chirinos would require Tommy John surgery for an elbow injury, ruling him out for the rest of the 2020 season and likely most of 2021. On August 25, 2020, he underwent the procedure. On February 22, 2021, Chirinos was placed on the 60-day injured list as he continued to recover from the surgery. On March 22, 2022, Chirinos signed a $1.175 million contract with the Rays, avoiding salary arbitration. Chirinos returned from Tommy John late in the season, and logged two scoreless appearances for the Rays, striking out 6 in 7.0 innings pitched. Chirinos was optioned to the Triple-A

to begin the 2023 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chirinos, Yonny 1993 births Living people Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Major League Baseball pitchers Tampa Bay Rays players Venezuelan Summer League Rays players Princeton Rays players Hudson Valley Renegades players Bowling Green Hot Rods players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Montgomery Biscuits players Bravos de Margarita players Durham Bulls players