Khalil Rashad Lee (born June 26, 1998) 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 ...

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 ...

who is a free agent. 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

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 ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2021.

Career

Amateur career

Lee graduated from Flint Hill School in

Oakton, Virginia Oakton is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 36,732 at the 2020 census. Located in Northern Virginia, its center is west of Washington, D.C. Geography Oakton is located in central Fa ...

, where he played on their baseball team as both a pitcher and outfielder. As a senior, he pitched to a 7–0 record with a 0.33 ERA, striking out 87 in 43 innings pitched, along with batting .471 with six home runs, 23 RBIs, a .634 OBP and a .941 SLG. He was named the Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year for the state of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Kansas City Royals

Lee was committed to play baseball at

Liberty University Liberty University (LU), known simply as Liberty, is a Private university, private Evangelicalism in the United States, evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservativ ...

. However, after he was drafted by 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 ...

in the third round of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who ...

, he chose to sign with the Royals for $579,700 rather than attend college. The Royals chose to assign him to the

Arizona League Royals The Arizona Complex League Royals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is compose ...

as an outfielder, and in 49 games, he batted .269 with six home runs, 29 RBIs, 43 runs scored, and eight triples along with an .880 OPS. He spent 2017 with the

Lexington Legends The Lexington Legends are an American professional baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball. The Legends have ...

and posted a .237 batting average with 17 home runs, 61 RBIs, 18 stolen bases and a .344 OBP in 121 games. In a July 2017 game with the Legends, Lee set a professional baseball record for strikeouts in a single game, striking out eight times in a 21-inning game against the

Delmarva Shorebirds The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shor ...

MLB.com MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (a subsidiary of MLB). MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports colum ...

ranked Lee as Kansas City's top prospect going into the 2018 season. He began the season with the

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. Fra ...

, with whom he was named a

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

All-Star, and was promoted to the

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. T ...

in June. In 100 games between the two clubs, he batted .263 with six home runs and 51 RBIs. He returned to Northwest Arkansas in 2019, earning

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 ...

All-Star honors. Over 129 games, he slashed .264/.363/.372 with eight home runs, 51 RBIs, and 53 stolen bases. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by 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 ...

. On November 20, 2020, Lee was added to the 40-man roster.

New York Mets

On February 10, 2021, the Royals traded Lee to the

in a three-team trade in which the

acquired Andrew Benintendi and the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

acquired

Franchy Cordero Franchy Cordero Vargas (born September 2, 1994) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder and first baseman for the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, K ...

Josh Winckowski Joshua Winckowski (born June 28, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Listed at and , he throws and bats right-handed. Career Toronto Blue Jays Winckowski is from Toledo, Ohio ...

, and three

players to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

. On May 12, 2021, Lee was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. On May 15, Lee was optioned down to Triple-A without making an appearance. On May 17, Lee was recalled to the majors. He made his MLB debut that day as a replacement for

Kevin Pillar Kevin Andrew Pillar () (born January 4, 1989) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, Colorado ...

, who left due to injury, and struck out in his only at bat. On May 21 during a game against the

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 ...

, Lee hit a go-ahead double off of pitcher

Adam Cimber Adam Christian Cimber (born August 15, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians, Miami Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays a ...

down the right field line in the top of the 12th inning, giving the Mets the lead. He collected his first big league hit and his first RBI. The Mets won the game 6–5. Lee began the 2022 season with the Triple-A

Syracuse Mets The Syracuse Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Syracuse, New York, and play their home games at NBT Bank Stadium, which ope ...

. He slumped to start the season, was sent down to the

High-A High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

St. Lucie Mets The St. Lucie Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and play their home games at Clover Park. The Mets have been members ...

for a week in May in order to work on his mechanics and thrived upon his return to Triple-A. On June 8, 2022, following injuries to

Pete Alonso Peter Morgan Alonso (born December 7, 1994), nicknamed "Polar Bear", is an American professional baseball first baseman for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). Internationally, Alonso represents the United States. Alonso played co ...

and Starling Marte, he was promoted to the majors. On June 11, Lee hit his first career home run against Oliver Ortega of the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

. Lee's home run proved to be his only hit of the season in 2 games for the Mets. He played in 100 games for Syracuse, slashing .211/.326/.366 with 10 home runs, 37 RBI, and 14 stolen bases. On February 6, 2023, Lee 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 ...

following the acquisition of

Sam Coonrod Samuel Timothy Coonrod (born September 22, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia P ...

. On February 10, he cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Syracuse. In 21 games for Syracuse, Lee struggled to a .185/.299/.323 slash line with 1 home run, 7 RBI, and 2 stolen bases. He was released by the Mets organization on May 7.

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs

On June 1, 2023, Lee signed with the

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs are an American professional baseball team based in Waldorf, Maryland. They are members of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Base ...

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 89 games, he slashed .277/.401/.482 with 15 home runs, 66 RBI, and 13 stolen bases.

Dorados de Chihuahua

On March 29, 2024, Lee signed with the

Toros de Tijuana The Toros de Tijuana (English: Tijuana Bulls) are a Mexican baseball team based in Tijuana, Mexico, that competes in the Mexican Baseball League. The team plays its home games at Estadio Chevron. Team history Original Attempt The franchise w ...

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 ...

. On April 5, Lee was loaned to the

Dorados de Chihuahua The Dorados de Chihuahua (English: Chihuahua Goldens) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Chihuahua City, Chihuahua. Their home ballpark is the Estadio Chihuahua. Established in 1940, the Dorados have played in the ...

of the

. In three games for the Dorados, he hit .154/.267/.231 with no home runs or RBI. Lee was released by the Chihuahuas on April 16.

Personal life

On February 1, 2023, Lee was accused by his ex-girlfriend of physical and verbal abuse.

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

police issued an arrest warrant for him on the charge of criminal obstruction of breathing. A lawsuit that was filed in the

United States District Court for the Northern District of New York The United States District Court for the Northern District of New York (in case citations, N.D.N.Y.) serves one of the 94 judicial districts in the United States and one of four in the state of New York. Appeals from the Northern District of Ne ...

on the same day alleged he abused his former girlfriend while playing for the Triple-A

in 2022.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Khalil 1998 births Living people African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Arizona League Royals players Dorados de Chihuahua players Indios de Mayagüez players Lexington Legends players Major League Baseball outfielders New York Mets players Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Sportspeople from Newark, Delaware Baseball players from New Castle County, Delaware St. Lucie Mets players Surprise Saguaros players Syracuse Mets players Wilmington Blue Rocks players 21st-century African-American sportsmen