Alessandre Blandino (born November 6, 1992) is an American 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, ...

and former

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

who is a free agent. He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

and was drafted by the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

in the first round of the

2014 Major League Baseball draft The 2014 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June 6, and the last 30 round ...

. He has played for the

Nicaragua national baseball team The Nicaragua national baseball team (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de Nicaragua'') is the national baseball team of Nicaragua. Considered the best in Central America along with Panama, it represents Nicaragua in internation ...

Amateur career

Blandino was drafted by the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

in the 38th round of the

2011 Major League Baseball draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the firs ...

out of St. Francis High School in

Mountain View, California Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, the population was 82,376 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Mountain V ...

. He did not sign and attended

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. He played

for the

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Stanford University. Stanford's program has won 138 National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA team championships, the List of NCAA schools ...

from 2012 to 2014, hitting .292/.372/.504 with 27

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s in 157 games. After his freshman and sophomore seasons, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the

Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox The Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox, or Y-D Red Sox, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Red Sox play th ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

, batting .323 in 2012 and .319 in 2013, and in both seasons was named the starting

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 Baseball scorekeep ...

for the East Division All-Star team.

Professional career

Cincinnati Reds (first stint)

The

drafted Blandino in the first round, with the 29th overall selection, of the

. He signed and was assigned to the

Billings Mustangs The Billings Mustangs are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Billings, Montana, and have played their home games at Deh ...

, and after batting .309 with four home runs, 16 RBIs, and a .939 OPS in 29 games, was promoted to the

Dayton Dragons The Dayton Dragons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Dayton, Ohio, and play their home games at Day Air Ballpark. In 2011, they broke the record for most ...

, where he finished the season, batting .261 with four home runs and 16 RBIs in 34 games. In 2015, he played for both the

Daytona Tortugas The Daytona Tortugas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Minor League Baseball#Single-A, Single-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Daytona Beach, Florida, and play their home games at Jackie R ...

and the

Pensacola Blue Wahoos The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League (1964–present), Southern League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home ga ...

, posting a combined .278 batting average with ten home runs and 53 RBIs, and 2016 with Pensacola, batting .232 with eight home runs and 37 RBIs. Blandino spent 2017 with Pensacola and the

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, wi ...

, slashing a combined .265/.382/.453 with 12 home runs and 51 RBIs in 125 total games between both teams. Blandino played for the

Nicaraguan national baseball team The Nicaragua national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de Nicaragua'') is the national baseball team of Nicaragua. Considered the best in Central America along with Panama, it represents Nicaragua in international tournaments. ...

in the 2017 World Baseball Classic Qualifier. On November 20, 2017, the Reds added Blandino to their

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 ...

to protect him 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 ...

. Blandino made his major league debut with the Reds on April 10, 2018, and hit his first major league home run on May 1, off

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

Jacob Barnes Jacob Andrew Barnes (born April 14, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Ange ...

. On July 11, he appeared as a pitcher in the 8th inning of a blowout loss against 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 , the team ...

. He struck out two of the four batters he faced, throwing a

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

and a

knuckleball A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch (baseball), pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from Laminar flow, lamin ...

. Blandino tore his

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

on July 20, and required surgery to repair it that ended his season. In 2019 for Cincinnati, Blandino appeared in 23 games, slashing .250/.420/.361 with one home run and three RBIs, and did not appear in a major league game in the 2020 season, spending the season at the alternate training site. Blandino pitched again for Cincinnati on April 28, 2021, in the bottom of the eighth inning 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 ...

, retiring the one batter he faced on a flyout. The Reds had previously given up 6 runs in the inning, putting them behind 8-0 when Blandino appeared to close out the inning. On July 17, Blandino was placed on the 60-day injured list with a fractured right hand. He was activated off of the injured list in mid-August and optioned to Triple-A Louisville. Blandino was outrighted off of the 40-man roster on November 4. He elected free agency on November 8.

San Francisco Giants

On December 10, 2021, Blandino signed a minor league contract with the

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

. In 24 games for the Triple–A

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland ...

, he hit .183/.309/.281 with one home run and 9 RBI.

Seattle Mariners

On May 14, 2022, Blandino was traded by the Giants to 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 ...

in exchange for

Stuart Fairchild Stuart Alexander Fairchild (born March 17, 1996) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball at Wake Forest University. Fairchild was drafted by the Cincinnati ...

. He played in 47 games for 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, ...

, batting .203/.399/.341 with 3 home runs, 22 RBI, and 7 stolen bases. Blandino was released by the Mariners organization on August 1.

Cincinnati Reds (second stint)

On November 22, 2023, Blandino signed a minor league contract with the Reds. After signing, it was revealed that Blandino was converting to a

pitcher. On November 6, 2024, he elected free agency.

International career

Born in the United States, Blandino is of Nicaraguan descent through his father. He played for the

at the

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball tournament and the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It began on March 8, 2023, and ran until March 21. It was originally scheduled to take place in ...

References

External links

Stanford Cardinal bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blandino, Alex 1992 births Living people Baseball players from Palo Alto, California Major League Baseball infielders Cincinnati Reds players Stanford Cardinal baseball players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players Billings Mustangs players Dayton Dragons players Daytona Tortugas players Pensacola Blue Wahoos players Peoria Javelinas players Louisville Bats players Sacramento River Cats players Tacoma Rainiers players American people of Nicaraguan descent Sportspeople of Nicaraguan descent 2023 World Baseball Classic players