Christopher Michael Devenski (born November 13, 1990), also known as "Devo", 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, ...

for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

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). He has previously played in MLB for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

, and

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2016. Prior to playing professionally, Devenski 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, ...

for Golden West College and

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public research university in Fullerton, California, United States. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the California State ...

. 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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

selected Devenski in the 25th round, with the 771st overall selection, of the 2011 MLB draft. He was named an MLB All-Star in 2017.

Amateur career

Devenski attended Gahr High School in

Cerritos, California Cerritos (; Spanish for "Little hills") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and is one of several cities that constitute the Gateway Cities of southeast Los Angeles County. It was municipal corporation, incorporated on ...

. He played for the school's

team as both a

and a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

. He graduated in 2008, and enrolled at Golden West College, where he played

in his freshman year as a pitcher and shortstop. Devenski transferred to

, where he continued his college baseball career with the

Cal State Fullerton Titans The Cal State Fullerton Titans (also known as CSUF or Fullerton Titans) are the sport, athletic teams that represent California State University, Fullerton. The Titans are a member of the NCAA Division I level. The Titans compete within the Big W ...

. The Titans'

coaches Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

convinced him to focus on pitching, and he accrued

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

over 104 games in two seasons with the school. He also 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 Woodstock River Bandits of the

Valley Baseball League The Valley Baseball League is an National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA and Major League Baseball, MLB-sanctioned collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. The league was s ...

in 2011.

Professional career

Chicago White Sox

The

selected Devenski in the 25th round, with the 771st overall selection, 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 ...

. He made his professional debut with the Great Falls Voyagers of the rookie-level Pioneer League. He started the 2012 season with the Kannapolis Intimidators of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

Houston Astros

On August 3, 2012, Devenski was traded to the

as the

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

in an earlier trade where the White Sox acquired Brett Myers. The Astros had already acquired minor leaguers Blair Walters and Matt Heidenreich in the trade. He had a 6–5 win–loss record (W–L) and a 4.23

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in 19 games started for Kannapolis before the trade. The Astros assigned him to the

Lexington Legends The Lexington Legends are an American professional baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball. The Legends have ...

of the Single–A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

. On August 31, in his fifth start for Lexington, he threw a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

with 16

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s. Devenski began the 2013 season with the

Lancaster JetHawks The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They were named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and played their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League B ...

of the

High-A High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leagu ...

. He struggled with Lancaster, working to a 7.88 ERA in innings pitched, and was demoted to the Quad Cities River Bandits of the

Single-A Single-A, formerly known as Class A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams cl ...

. Devenski started the 2014 season with Lancaster and received another midseason promotion, this time to the

Corpus Christi Hooks The Corpus Christi Hooks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and are named for the city's association with fishing. The team is owned b ...

of the Double-A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. He pitched for Corpus Christi in 2015, finishing the season with a 3.01 ERA in

. Devenski was named their Pitcher of the Year. He was promoted to the

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in ...

of the Triple-A

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

for the playoffs and pitched seven one-hit innings to help Fresno win the Triple-A National Championship Game. He was named the

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

of the championship game. Eligible in 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 ...

after the 2015 season, the Astros did not protect Devenski on their 40-man roster, but Devenski was not selected. The Astros assigned Devenski to Fresno for

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

of the 2016 season, but promoted him to the major leagues on April 6. He made his MLB debut on April 8. Devenski finished the 2016 season with a 2.16 ERA and 0.914

walks plus hits per inning pitched In baseball statistics, walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) is a Sabermetrics, sabermetric measurement of the number of Baserunning#Becoming a runner, baserunners a pitcher has allowed per Innings pitched, inning pitched. WHIP is calculate ...

ratio in 48 appearances. Devenski continued to pitch for the Astros as a multi-inning relief pitcher in 2017. He was named to the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

's (AL) roster for the

MLB All-Star Game The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

on July 7. As of that day, he had a 2.09 ERA in innings pitched, and led all major league relief pitchers in innings pitched, in strikeouts with 72, and tied for the most wins, with 6. He finished the regular season with an 8–5 win–loss record, a 2.68 ERA, and 100 strikeouts with 26 walks in innings pitched. Devenski appeared in five games of the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

, pitching a total of five innings while allowing four hits and four runs, although he was the winning pitcher of Game 2. Devenski was the first pitcher in Astros' history to win a

game. Devenski and the Astros agreed to a $1.525 million salary for the 2019 season. On August 3, 2019, Devenski worked the ninth inning in a combined no-hitter of 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 ...

; the game was started by Aaron Sanchez, Will Harris, and Joe Biagini preceded Devenski in relief. The final score was 9–0. However, he struggled throughout the season, setting a career high 4.83 ERA in 61 games. On September 15, 2020, Devenski underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone spur from his right elbow and missed the rest of the 2020 season. At the time of the surgery, he had allowed 6 earned runs across frames.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On January 20, 2021, Devenski signed a minor league contract with the

organization. On March 29, he was selected to the 40-man roster. On May 15, Devenski was placed on the 60-day

injured 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 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

with a sprained right UCL. On June 6, he underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

, officially ending his 2021 season. He registered an 8.59 ERA in 8 games for Arizona in 2021. On October 8, Devenski elected free agency. On October 25, Devenski re-signed with the Diamondbacks on a minor league contract. Devenski returned to action rehabbing with the Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks, before later being elevated to the Triple-A

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, w ...

, where he logged a 7.36 ERA across 6 appearances. On July 26, 2022, Devenski's contract was selected to the major league roster. On August 26, Devenski 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 ...

and became a free agent.

Philadelphia Phillies

On August 30, 2022, Devenski signed a minor league contract with the

. He made 9 appearances for the Triple–A

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and they are named in reference to pig iron, used ...

, posting a strong 1.04 ERA with 11 strikeouts across innings pitched. On September 25, Devenski's contract was selected to the major league roster. In three games for the Phillies, he struggled to a 11.25 ERA with three strikeouts across four innings of work.

Los Angeles Angels

On November 28, 2022, Devenski signed a minor league contract with the

. On March 25, 2023, it was announced that Devenski did not make the team's Opening Day roster. Devenski opted to remain with the Angels and report to the Triple-A

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team that plays in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Based in South Jordan, Utah, the team plays its home games at The Ballpark at Am ...

rather than exercising his opt-out clause. He made 7 appearances in Salt Lake, posting a 4.00 ERA with 9 strikeouts in as many innings pitched. On April 29, Devenski was selected to the active roster after José Quijada was placed on the injured list. In 29 appearances for the Angels, he recorded a 5.09 ERA with 33 strikeouts in innings of work. After spending a month on the injured list with a right hamstring strain, Devenski was activated on August 25 and subsequently

. On August 29, he was released.

Tampa Bay Rays

On August 29, 2023, Devenski signed a one-year, major league contract with the

. In 9 games for the Rays, he compiled a 3–2 record and 2.08 ERA with 9 strikeouts across innings pitched. Devenski became a free agent following the season and re-signed with the Rays on a new major league contract December 5, 2023. He made 19 relief outings for the Rays in 2024, and struggled to a 6.75 ERA with 24 strikeouts across innings of work. Devenski was designated for assignment on June 25, 2024. He was released by the Rays organization on June 30.

Seattle Mariners

On July 2, 2024, Devenski signed a major league contract with the

. He was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to 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, ...

on July 30. In 23 appearances for Tacoma, Devenski logged a 2.35 ERA with 31 strikeouts and 3 saves over 23 innings pitched. He elected free agency on October 4.

New York Mets

On October 28, 2024, Devenski signed a minor league contract with the

. He began the 2025 season with the Triple-A

Syracuse Mets The Syracuse Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Syracuse, New York, and play their home games at NBT Bank Stadium, which ope ...

, recording a 1.93 ERA with seven strikeouts and two saves in nine games. On April 30, 2025, the Mets selected Devenski's contract, adding him to their active roster.

Personal life

Devenski was raised in

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana (Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, California, United States. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census. As ...

. His father, Mike, owns a moving company. Amanda, his twin sister, is a teacher. While he was attending college, his family moved to

Artesia, California Artesia ( Spanish for " artesian aquifer") is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California. Artesia was incorporated on May 29, 1959, and is one of Los Angeles County's Gateway Cities. The city has a 2020 census population of 16,395. A ...

. Devenski is often known to Astros fans by the nickname "

Devo Devo is an American new wave band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs ( Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a No. 14 ...

" after the new wave band of the 1980s.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devenski, Chris 1990 births Living people American League All-Stars American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Arizona Complex League Angels players Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks players Arizona Diamondbacks players Baseball players from Long Beach, California Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball players Corpus Christi Hooks players Durham Bulls players Fresno Grizzlies players Gahr High School alumni Golden West Rustlers baseball players Great Falls Voyagers players Houston Astros players Inland Empire 66ers players Kannapolis Intimidators players Lancaster JetHawks players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Lexington Legends players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball pitchers New York Mets players Philadelphia Phillies players Quad Cities River Bandits players Reno Aces players Salt Lake Bees players Syracuse Mets players Tacoma Rainiers players Tampa Bay Rays players Tiburones de La Guaira players 21st-century American sportsmen