Fernando Cortez (born October 29, 1981 in Stockton, California) is a former Major League Baseball

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

. His last MLB team was the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expa ...

Career

Tampa Bay Rays

Cortez was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 9th round of the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft. He began his professional career that year for the Hudson Valley Renegades. He received a promotion to the Charleston RiverDogs in 2002, where he would spend the season. In 2003, he played for the high-A Bakersfield Blaze and the AA Orlando Rays. In 2004, he remained in AA for the Montgomery Biscuits. He began 2005 in Montgomery before receiving a promotion to the AAA Durham Bulls.He saw his first Major League action with the Devil Rays in , serving as a

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player is a player who typically does not have the offensive abilities to justify a regular starting role on the team but is capable of playing more than one defensive position. These players are able to give the various s ...

in his limited time with the club after making his debut on July 5, 2005.

Kansas City Royals

On June 20, , Cortez, along with

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

Joey Gathright, was traded to Kansas City for

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subject ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("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, who attempts to e ...

J.P. Howell James Phillip Howell (born April 25, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Toronto Blue Jays. Career A ...

. Cortez was assigned to the roster of the Triple-A Omaha Royals and did not play in the majors with Kansas City in 2006. In , Cortez saw limited action with Kansas City, appearing in eight games. His 2007 campaign with the Royals resulted in a .286 batting average four hits in 14 at-bats, with one

RBI RBI most often refers to: *Reserve Bank of India *Run batted in RBI may also refer to: Organisations *Radio Berlin International *Raiffeisen Bank International *Reed Business Information *Restaurant Brands International *Ruđer Bošković In ...

and three runs scored. Kansas City designated him for assignment on July 11.

Chicago White Sox

Cortez signed with 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 ...

for the season and was assigned to the AAA Charlotte Knights. He played in 104 games in Charlotte, hitting .262/.296/.341 to go along with 93 hits. He became a free agent after the season.

Second Stint with Tampa Bay Rays

On April 20, 2009, Cortez signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

and was assigned to the AA Montgomery Biscuits. He spent the entire year in Montgomery and elected free agency on November 9, 2009. On June 5, 2010, Cortez resigned with the Rays organization.

Second Stint with Chicago White Sox

On June 29, 2010, Cortez signed with the Chicago White Sox organization and was assigned to the Charlotte Knights. On November 6, 2010, Cortez elected free agency.

Somerset Patriots

Cortez signed with the Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball for the 2011 season. Cortez played in 113 games for Somerset in 2011, carrying a .290/.341/.371 batting line and 125 hits. He became a free agent at seasons end.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cortez, Fernando Kansas City Royals players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players 1981 births Living people Major League Baseball infielders Baseball players from California Grossmont Griffins baseball players American people of Puerto Rican descent Hudson Valley Renegades players Charleston RiverDogs players Orlando Rays players Bakersfield Blaze players Montgomery Biscuits players Durham Bulls players Omaha Royals players Charlotte Knights players Newark Bears players Birmingham Barons players Somerset Patriots players