Jakson Dale Reetz (born January 3, 1996) 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 ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

in 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 ...

organization. He has previously played in

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) for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

and

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 ...

Career

Amateur career

Reetz attended Norris High School in Firth, Nebraska. In high school, Reetz played for the

United States national under-18 baseball team The United States national under-18 baseball team is the national under-18 baseball team of United States in international-level baseball competitions. The U.S. national 18U team debuted their international team in the Friendship Series, in 19 ...

Washington Nationals

The

selected Reetz in the third 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 chose to turn pro and signed with the Nationals, who drafted him with the 93rd overall pick. He made his professional debut with the rookie-level

GCL Nationals The Florida Complex League Nationals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Washington Nationals, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Nationals. The t ...

, hitting .274 in 43 games. In 2015, Reetz played for the Low-A

Auburn Doubledays The Auburn Doubledays are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) that is located in Auburn, New York. From 1958 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) ...

, batting .212/.326/.248 in 36 games. The following year, Reetz played in Single-A with the

Hagerstown Suns The Hagerstown Suns were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland. They were a member of the South Atlantic League and, from 2007 through 2020, were the Class A (baseball), Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They pl ...

, posting a .230/.346/.357 slash line with 4 home runs and 38 RBI. For the 2017 season, Reetz split the year between Hagerstown and the High-A

Potomac Nationals The Potomac Nationals were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They were situated in Woodbridge, Virginia, and played their home games at Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium. After the 2019 season, the team relocated to ...

, accumulating a .237/.337/.355 batting line with 4 home runs and 22 RBI. He returned to Potomac in 2018, slashing .224/.342/.323 with 5 home runs and 27 RBI in 69 games. Reetz played for Potomac for a third straight season in 2019, and batted .252/.370/.441 with career-highs in home runs (13) and RBI (55). After parts of six seasons in the Nationals organization, Reetz was invited to

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

in 2020 with the major league team. Reetz was also part of the team's 60-man player pool during the shortened season that year, but did not play in a game 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 was subsequently invited to major league spring training in 2021, although he did not make the team. Reetz was promoted to Triple-A minor league baseball for the first time in July 2021, advancing from the Double-A

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team who play in the Eastern League, and are the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The team is based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at FNB Field on Cit ...

to the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...

. Days later, on July 10, the Nationals selected his contract and promoted him to the major leagues for the first time, following an injury to primary catcher

Yan Gomes Yan Gomes (; ; born July 19, 1987) is a Brazilian-American professional baseball catcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland Indians, Washington Nationals, Oakland Ath ...

. He made his major league debut the same day, doubling off

reliever John Brebbia in his first career at-bat and scoring a run. Reetz was designated for assignment by the Nationals on September 22.

Milwaukee Brewers

On December 9, 2021, Reetz signed a minor league contract with the

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 ...

. Reetz was added to the 40-man roster on August 4, 2022, and subsequently designated for assignment on August 18. He cleared waivers and declined an outright assignment, becoming a free agent.

Kansas City Royals

On August 25, 2022, Reetz signed a minor league contract with 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) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

. After the season, he was chosen for the

Southern League Most Valuable Player Award The Southern League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual award given to the best player in Minor League Baseball's Southern League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers. League broadcasters, Minor Leagu ...

for his time playing for the Brewers' Double–A affiliate. He elected free agency following the season on November 10. On December 13, 2022, Reetz re-signed with the Royals on a new minor league deal. In 2023, Reetz played in 27 games for the Triple–A

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, Nebraska, Omah ...

, hitting .274/.349/.526 with 4 home runs and 15 RBI. He opted out of his contract and was released by the Royals on June 16, 2023.

San Francisco Giants

On June 27, 2023, Reetz signed a minor league contract with the

organization. In 55 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 batted .227/.338/.487 with 13 home runs and 42 RBI. Reetz elected free agency following the season on November 6. On December 7, 2023, Reetz re–signed with the Giants on a new minor league deal. He returned to Sacramento, playing in 15 games and hitting .217 with two home runs and nine RBI. On May 5, 2024, the Giants selected Reetz' contract, adding him to the major league roster. He played in 5 games for San Francisco, going 1–for–12 (.083) with one home run and one RBI. On May 24, Reetz was designated for assignment following the signing of

Drew Pomeranz Thomas Andrew Pomeranz (born November 22, 1988), nicknamed Big Smooth, is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, ...

. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Sacramento on May 31. On August 6, the Giants selected Reetz's contract, adding him back to their active roster. He was designated for assignment on August 23, following the signing of

Andrew Knapp Andrew Michael Knapp (born November 9, 1991) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, and San Francisco Gia ...

. Reetz cleared waivers for a second time on August 27, and was again sent outright to Sacramento. He elected free agency on October 1.

New York Mets

On November 22, 2024, Reetz signed a minor league contract with the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reetz, Jakson 1996 births Living people Auburn Doubledays players Baseball players from Nebraska Biloxi Shuckers players Gulf Coast Nationals players Hagerstown Suns players Harrisburg Senators players Major League Baseball catchers Nashville Sounds players Omaha Storm Chasers players People from Lancaster County, Nebraska Potomac Nationals players Rochester Red Wings players Sacramento River Cats players San Francisco Giants players Surprise Saguaros players Syracuse Mets players Washington Nationals players 21st-century American sportsmen