Aaron Lee Northcraft (born May 28, 1990) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. After spending time on the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

’ 40-man roster in 2013 and 2014, Northcraft made his

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) debut in 2021 for 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

Career

Atlanta Braves

Northcraft was drafted in the 10th round, of the

2009 Major League Baseball draft The 2009 Major League Baseball draft was held June 9 to June 11 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. The drafting order is as follows: First-round selections Key Supplemental first-round selections From Baseball Americ ...

, 298th overall by the

out of Mater Dei High School. He made his professional debut in 2009 with the

Gulf Coast League Braves The Florida Complex League Braves are an American baseball team. They are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast Lea ...

. He split the 2010 season between the rookie–level Danville Braves and the Single–A

Rome Braves The Rome Emperors are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They are located in Rome, Georgia, and play their home games at AdventHealth Stadium. From 2003 to 2023, the team wa ...

, recording a cumulative 3.90 ERA and 7–4 record with 46 strikeouts. The next year, Northcraft spent the season in Rome, registering a 7–8 record and 3.34 ERA with 88 strikeouts in innings pitched. He spent the 2012 season with the High-A

Lynchburg Hillcats The Lynchburg Hillcats are a Minor League Baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia that plays in the Carolina League and is the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2014, the Cincinn ...

, pitching to a 10–11 record and 3.98 ERA in innings of work. On November 19, 2012, Northcraft was selected to the

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 ...

in order to be protected from the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. In 2013, Northcraft spent the season with the Double–A

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they were referred to locally, were a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson, from 2005 to 2024. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and competed in ...

, registering a 8–8 record and 3.42 ERA. The next year, he split the year with Mississippi and the Triple–A

Gwinnett Braves The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevi ...

, pitching to a 7–10 record and 4.70 ERA.

San Diego Padres

On December 19, 2014, Northcraft was traded to the

along with

Justin Upton Justin Irvin Upton (born August 25, 1987) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. Nicknamed "J-Up", he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, Detroit Tigers, Los Angel ...

in exchange for Jace Peterson,

Max Fried Max Dorian Fried ( ; born January 18, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Atlanta Braves. Fried was selected by the San Diego Padres in the fi ...

, Dustin Peterson, and

Mallex Smith Mallex Lydell Smith (born May 6, 1993) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Charros de Jalisco of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays, and Seattle ...

. On February 11, 2015, Northcraft was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Padres following the signing of James Shields. On February 17, Northcraft was outrighted to the Triple-A

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team based in El Paso, Texas. The Chihuahuas compete in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) as the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Sou ...

. He split the season between El Paso and the Double-A

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Missions compete in the Texas League as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Nelson W. W ...

, recording a 4–6 record and 4.21 ERA in 39 games. He split 2016 between El Paso and San Antonio, pitching to a 7–3 record and 4.07 ERA in innings of work. Northcraft elected free agency following the season on November 7, 2016. Northcraft spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons out of baseball due to injuries, missing 2017 with a partially torn flexor and UCL and missing 2018 after undergoing a January surgery to repair nerve damage in his right elbow. He appeared in 17 games for the

Tigres de Aragua The Tigres de Aragua () is a baseball team that plays in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League and represents the state of Aragua. Founded in 1965, the Tigres plays its home games at the Estadio José Pérez Colmenares in Maracay. The team ...

in the Venezuelan Winter League for the 2018/2019 season, pitching to a 1.53 ERA in 17.2 innings pitched.

Seattle Mariners

On January 2, 2019, Northcraft signed a minor league contract with the

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

organization. He spent the majority of the season with the Triple-A

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, ...

, also appearing in 1 game for the Low-A

Everett AquaSox The Everett AquaSox are a Minor League Baseball team in Everett, Washington. The team is a member of the Northwest League and is the High-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The AquaSox play their home games at Funko Field, which has a seatin ...

and 3 games for the Double-A

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners and play in the Texas League. Hi ...

, recording a cumulative 2.03 ERA with 39 strikeouts between the three clubs. Northcraft elected free agency following the season on November 4.

Miami Marlins

On December 18, 2019, Northcraft signed a minor league contract with the

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

organization that included an invitation to Spring Training. Northcraft was included in the Marlins' initial 60–man player pool for the 2020 season, but did not play in a game for the organization 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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He elected free agency on November 2, 2020.

San Diego Padres (second stint)

On February 12, 2021, Northcraft signed a minor league contract with the

organization that included an invitation to Spring Training. He was assigned to the Triple-A

to begin the year. On April 23, Northcraft was selected to the 40–man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut the next day, pitching in relief against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. In the game, he also notched his first major league strikeout, punching out Dodgers outfielder Luke Raley. Northcraft recorded a 2.25 ERA in five appearances, walking eight and striking out five before being designated for assignment on July 9. He was released on July 13, and re–signed a minor league contract on July 19. Northcraft spent the entirety of the 2022 campaign with Triple–A El Paso. In 30 appearances out of the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

, he compiled a 3.16 ERA with 20 strikeouts across innings pitched. Northcraft was released by the Padres organization on August 10, 2022.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Northcraft, Aaron Living people 1990 births Baseball players from Tucson, Arizona Major League Baseball pitchers San Diego Padres players Gulf Coast Braves players Danville Braves players Rome Braves players Lynchburg Hillcats players Mississippi Braves players Scottsdale Scorpions players Gwinnett Braves players Peoria Javelinas players San Antonio Missions players El Paso Chihuahuas players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Everett AquaSox players Arkansas Travelers players Tacoma Rainiers players Gigantes del Cibao players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic