Jairo Alejandro Iriarte (born December 15, 2001) is a Venezuelan 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

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 ...

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).

Career

San Diego Padres

Iriarte signed with 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. ...

as an international free agent on July 2, 2018, for a $75,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. He made his professional debut in 2019 with the DSL Padres of the

Rookie-level Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National L ...

Dominican Summer League The Dominican Summer League (DSL) is a branch of affiliated Minor League Baseball which is played in the Dominican Republic. The league was founded in 1985. After the demise of the Venezuelan Summer League after the 2015 season, it is the only ...

, going 1–2 with a 3.31 ERA and 21 strikeouts over innings. Iriarte did not play in a game in 2020 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 ...

. Iriarte split the 2021 season between the

AZL Padres The Arizona Complex League Padres or ACL Padres are a Minor League Baseball team based in Peoria, Arizona. The Padres compete in the Arizona Complex League as a rookie-level affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Peori ...

of the

Arizona League The Arizona Complex League (ACL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in and around Phoenix, Arizona, since 1988. Prior to 2021, it was known as the Arizona League (AZL). Along with the Florida Complex League (FCL), it fo ...

and the

Lake Elsinore Storm The Lake Elsinore Storm are a Minor League Baseball team based in Lake Elsinore, California. The Storm compete in the California League as the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Lake Elsinore Diamond, w ...

of the

Low-A West 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 ...

, going a combined 0–5 with an 11.40 ERA and 34 strikeouts over 30 innings. He returned to Lake Elsinore for the 2022 season, going 4–7 with a 5.12 ERA and 109 strikeouts over innings. Iriarte opened the 2023 season with the

Fort Wayne TinCaps The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The TinCaps compete in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Parkview Field. The TinCaps won the ...

of the

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 ...

, going 3–3 with a 3.10 ERA and 77 strikeouts over 61 innings. He was promoted to the

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 ...

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 ...

on July 14. On November 14, 2023, the Padres added Iriarte 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 ...

Chicago White Sox

On March 13, 2024, the Padres traded Iriarte,

Steven Wilson Steven John Wilson (born 3 November 1967) is an English musician. He is the founder, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter of the rock band Porcupine Tree, as well as being a member of several other bands, including Blackfield, Storm Corrosi ...

, Drew Thorpe, and Samuel Zavala to the

in exchange for

Dylan Cease Dylan Edward Cease (born December 28, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox. The Chicago Cubs selected Cease in the s ...

. Upon his acquisition, he was optioned to the Triple–A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field ...

. However, Iriarte began the year with the Double–A

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The Baron ...

, compiling a 5–7 record and 3.71 ERA with 122 strikeouts over 23 games (22 starts). On September 1, Iriarte was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. Iriate made his Major League debut on September 3 in a relief appearance against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

, going one inning, allowing one hit, walking two, and giving up one earned run. He ended his night with one strikeout, the first of his career, against Colton Cowser. In 6 appearances for the White Sox during his rookie campaign, Iriarte compiled an 0-1 record and 1.50 ERA with 6 strikeouts over 6 innings of work. Iriarte was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte to begin the 2025 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iriarte, Jairo 2001 births Living people Arizona Complex League Padres players Arizona Complex League White Sox players Birmingham Barons players Charlotte Knights players Chicago White Sox players Dominican Summer League Padres players Fort Wayne TinCaps players Lake Elsinore Storm players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela 21st-century Venezuelan sportsmen Baseball players from La Guaira San Antonio Missions players