Justin Healy Shafer (born September 18, 1992) 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 ...

coach and former

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, ...

who is currently the

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decision ...

for the

Kansas City Monarchs The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 193 ...

of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor ...

. He 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

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

and

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

High school and college

Shafer graduated from Lake Wales High School in his home town of

Lake Wales, Florida Lake Wales is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 16,361 at the 2020 census. History Early history A survey by W.A. Williams and J. ...

. Undrafted out of high school, he then attended the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, where he was both a pitcher and a position player. In his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

season, Shafer recorded a .284

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

and 27

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBI), and a 4.50

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 six relief pitching appearances. As a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

, Shafer hit .300 with five

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 25 RBI, and posted a 1–1 win–loss record, 5.20 ERA, and 26

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 in 27

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

s. In his final season with the Gators, he hit .211 with one home run and 10 RBI, and went 1–0 on the mound with a 4.17 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 36 innings. In 2012 and 2013, he 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 ...

in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.

Professional career

Toronto Blue Jays

Shafer was selected in the eighth round, with the 234th overall selection, 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 ...

by the

. He was assigned to the Low–A

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bail ...

for the remainder of the 2014 season, and went 1–3 with a 5.16 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 22 innings pitched. Shafer was assigned to the Single–A

Lansing Lugnuts The Lansing Lugnuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Athletics (baseball), Athletics. They are located in Lansing, Michigan, and play their home games at Jackson Field (Lansing), Jackson Fie ...

to begin 2015, and was later promoted to the High–A

Dunedin Blue Jays The Dunedin Blue Jays are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and are the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball club. They are located in Dunedin, Florida, and play their home games at TD Ballpark, ...

. Operating as a

swingman A swingman is an athlete capable of playing multiple positions in their sport. Basketball In basketball, the term "swingman" (a.k.a. "wing" or "guard-forward") denotes a player who can play both the shooting guard (2) and small forward (3) positi ...

, Shafer posted an 8–9 record, 4.15 ERA, and 53 strikeouts in 95 innings. During the offseason, Shafer pitched for the

Salt River Rafters The Salt River Rafters are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community near Scottsdale, Arizona. ...

of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

(AFL). He spent the entire 2016 season with Dunedin, going 4–6 with a 5.23 ERA and 62 strikeouts in a career-high 115 innings. Shafer returned to the AFL in the offseason, appearing in seven games for the Mesa Solar Sox. Shafer was converted to a full-time reliever to begin the 2017 campaign. After five scoreless appearances with Dunedin, he was promoted to the Double–A

New Hampshire Fisher Cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League, is the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Ja ...

. Shafer spent the majority of the year with New Hampshire, and earned a late-season promotion to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

. In total, Shafer made 44 relief appearances in 2017 and went 5–2 with a 2.90 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 71 innings. On January 24, 2018, the Blue Jays invited Shafer to spring training. He split his time in 2018 between New Hampshire and Buffalo. On August 19, 2018, Shafer was called up by the Blue Jays and made his debut the same day in relief against the

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

, throwing a scoreless inning with a strikeout. He was outrighted off the roster on November 2, 2018, and assigned to Triple-A Buffalo to start the 2019 season. Shafer had his contract selected on May 28, 2019. He was optioned back to Buffalo on June 3. He ended the season with a record of 2–1 in 34 games. He struck out 39 in innings but also walked 25 batters. Shafer 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 November 20, 2019.

Cincinnati Reds

On November 25, 2019, Shafer was traded to the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

in exchange for cash considerations. On July 24, 2020, Shafer was designated for assignment by the Reds organization.

Miami Marlins

On July 27, 2020, Shafer was claimed off waivers by the

. On September 9, 2020, Shafer was designated for assignment and released the same day by the Marlins. Shafer allowed no runs with 2 strikeouts in 1.0 inning pitched for the Marlins in 2020.

Kansas City Monarchs

On March 8, 2021, Shafer signed with the

of the

. In 5 games for the Monarchs, Shafer recorded a 2–1 record and 5.59 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 19.1 innings pitched. On June 18, 2021, Shafer's contract was purchased by the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

organization. However, Shafer did not play in a game for the Cubs organization and returned to the Monarchs on July 2. After the 2021 season Shafer would become a free agent.

Coaching career

On April 15, 2024, Shafer was hired to become the

for the

of the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shafer, Justin 1992 births American expatriate baseball players in Canada Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Dunedin Blue Jays players Florida Gators baseball players Kansas City Monarchs (American Association) players Lansing Lugnuts players Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Mesa Solar Sox players Miami Marlins players New Hampshire Fisher Cats players Sportspeople from Lake Wales, Florida Baseball players from Polk County, Florida Salt River Rafters players Toronto Blue Jays players Vancouver Canadians players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players