José Ramon Marmolejos (born January 2, 1993), sometimes referred to as José Marmolejos-Diaz, 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 ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

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 catch ...

for the

Diablos Rojos del México The Diablos Rojos del Mexico (English: Mexico Red Devils) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Mexico City, Mexico. The team was founded in 1940 by Salvador Lutteroth and Ernesto Carmona. The Diablos Rojos play their ho ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. 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

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 ...

and in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB) for the

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping ...

Career

Washington Nationals

Marmolejos signed with 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 ...

as an international free agent in June 2011. After hitting .310 over 124 games with 11 home runs for the Single–A

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 ...

of the

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 ...

in 2015, Marmolejos was named the Nationals' Minor League Player of the Year. He repeated in 2016, earning organizational Minor League Player of the Year honors with a combined .289 batting average and 13 home runs with 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 ...

and 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 ...

. On November 18, 2016, the Nationals added Marmolejos 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 ...

. On February 24, 2017, Marmolejos was placed on the 60-day disabled list with a left forearm strain. While rehabbing, Marmolejos went 5-for-6 with the Harrisburg Senators in a May 22, 2017, game visiting the

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving as the Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Ti ...

. He capped off his day by hitting a two-out, go-ahead grand slam in the ninth inning, and the Senators won the ballgame 14–13. He was activated from the disabled list and assigned to continue playing for Double–A Harrisburg on June 1, 2017. He was named to participate in the Eastern League All-Star game in 2017. In total, he hit .288 with 14 home runs in 107 games in Double–A for the 2017 season. Marmolejos 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 ...

on July 26, 2018. He remained with the Nationals and received a non-roster invitation to major league spring training before the

2019 season Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

. Marmolejos elected free agency following the season on November 4, 2019.

Seattle Mariners

On November 27, 2019, Marmolejos signed a minor league contract with the

, that included an invitation to spring training. On July 24, 2020, Marmolejos made his MLB debut on Opening Day, going hitless over 3 at-bats against 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 ...

. Marmolejos finished the 2020 season hitting .206 with 6 home runs and 18 RBI. Marmolejos hit .139 with 3 home runs and 9 RBI in 31 games for the Mariners in 2021 before being designated for assignment on May 20, 2021. He was outrighted 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 May 23. After having a great stint with Triple-A Tacoma, hitting .360 with 23 home runs and 71 RBI's through 72 games, his contract was re-selected by the Mariners on August 30, 2021. On September 14, Marmolejos was once again designated for assignment by the Mariners. On October 5, Marmolejos elected free agency.

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

On December 7, 2021, Marmolejos signed with the

. He played in 58 games for Rakuten, hitting .208/.278/.342 with 7 home runs and 28 RBI. Marmolejos became a free agent following the 2022 season.

Spire City Ghost Hounds

On April 29, 2023, Marmolejos signed with the Spire City Ghost Hounds of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. In 107 games for Spire City, he batted .303/.395/.578 with 28 home runs and 90 RBI. Following the season, Marmolejos was named an Atlantic League All–Star.

Diablos Rojos del México

On November 2, 2023, Marmolejos was drafted by the Lexington Counter Clocks in the Ghost Hounds dispersal draft. However, on January 15, 2024, Marmolejos signed with the

of the

. In 70 games, he hit .364/.470/.559 with 10 home runs, 48 RBI and three stolen bases. With the team, Marmolejos won the

Serie del Rey The Serie del Rey () is the annual championship series of the Mexican Baseball League (LMB), held since . The champions from the league's two divisions, the North and South Zones, compete in a best-of-seven series, with the winner being awarded ...

, and was named the Series MVP. Marmolejos re-signed with México for a second season in 2025.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marmolejos, Jose 1993 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Auburn Doubledays players Baseball players from Santo Domingo Diablos Rojos del México players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Nationals players Estrellas Orientales players Fresno Grizzlies players Gulf Coast Nationals players Hagerstown Suns players Harrisburg Senators players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Potomac Nationals players Seattle Mariners players Spire City Ghost Hounds players Syracuse Chiefs players Tacoma Rainiers players Tigres del Licey players Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles players Leones del Escogido players