Merkin R. Valdéz Mola (born November 10, 1981) is a Dominican former 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, ...

. 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

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 ...

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 Texas Rangers. Valdez graduated from Escuela Rural Palenque High School in his native Dominican Republic.

Career

Atlanta Braves

Valdez was signed by the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

as an amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 1999. He played with the

Dominican Summer League Braves The Dominican Summer League Braves or DSL Braves is a minor league baseball team in the Dominican Summer League. The team plays in the San Pedro de Macorís division and is affiliated with the Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American ...

in 2000 and 2001 and the rookie-level

Gulf Coast League Braves The Florida Complex League Braves are an American baseball team. They are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast Lea ...

in 2002.

San Francisco Giants

Valdez was traded by the Braves with

Damian Moss Damian Joseph Moss (born 24 November 1976) is an Australian former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. Career After making his Major League debut on 26 April, , with the Atlanta Braves, Moss would also spend the season in Atlanta, where ...

to the

in exchange for

Russ Ortiz Russell Reid Ortiz (born June 5, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Ortiz played for the San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers of Major Leagu ...

on December 17, 2002. He was named San Francisco's Minor League Player of the Year and selected as a Low-A All-Star in 2003 when he went 9–5 with a 2.25 ERA for 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 ...

in 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 2004, Valdez pitched for Single-A

San Jose Giants The San Jose Giants are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Located in San Jose, California, the Giants play their home games at Excite Ballpark. Games San Jose Giants g ...

, Double-A

Norwich Navigators Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

, Triple-A

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in ...

, and made his Major League debut on August 1, 2004, against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

. He appeared in 2 games for the Giants, working innings for a 27.00 ERA. Valdez was selected to the World squad for the

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League- ...

for 3 consecutive years (2003–05), held in conjunction with MLB All-Star festivities. Valdez spent all of 2005 with Norwich, and all of 2006 with Fresno, until injuring his arm. He missed the entire 2007 season after undergoing

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

on September 27, 2006. Valdez returned to the Giants to appear in 17 games in 2007 and 48 games in 2009. He 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 January 14, 2010, by the Giants to make room on the 40-man roster for

Aubrey Huff Aubrey Lewis Huff III (born December 20, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player who played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Huff played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, ...

Toronto Blue Jays

On January 20, 2010, Valdez was traded to the

in exchange for cash considerations. He appeared in two games with the Blue Jays during the season, spending most of the season with the Las Vegas 51s. Valdez became a free agent following the season.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On February 2, 2011, Valdez was signed to a minor league contract by the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. The Dodgers assigned him to the Triple-A

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an ...

. Valdez opted out of his contract on July 18 and became a free agent. He had appeared in 38 games with the Isotopes with a 4–2 record, a 3.58 ERA, 43 strikeouts, and 5 saves.

Texas Rangers

On July 24, 2011, Valdez signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home ...

, and had his contract selected on September 1. In 5 games for Texas, Valdez posted a 6.23 ERA with 6 strikeouts across innings pitched. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A and elected free agency on November 4.

Oakland Athletics

On December 22, 2011, Valdez signed a minor league contract with the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

. In 36 appearances split between the rookie-level

Arizona League Athletics The Arizona Complex League Athletics are a Minor League Baseball team based in Mesa, Arizona, which plays as a Rookie-level team in the Arizona Complex League and has served as a farm team for the Athletics organization since 1988. They play thei ...

and 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 accumulated a 3.46 ERA with 27 strikeouts and 5 saves across 39 innings of work. Valdez elected free agency following the season on November 3, 2012.

Personal life

When Valdez was first traded to the Giants, he went by the name Manny Mateo. While in his first year with the organization, however, his real name and real age (nine months older than he previously claimed) were revealed. Valdez's younger brother,

Jesús Jesus ( AD 30 or 33) was a Jewish preacher and religious leader who most Christians believe to be the incarnation of God and Muslims believe was a prophet. Jesus may also refer to: People Religious figures * Elymas Bar-Jesus, a Jew in the ''Act ...

is also a professional baseball player. Valdez has a son, Merkin Hanier, born August 11, 2006.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valdez, Merkin 1981 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players Arizona League Athletics players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Fresno Grizzlies players Gulf Coast Braves players Hagerstown Suns players Las Vegas 51s players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Norwich Navigators players Round Rock Express players Sacramento River Cats players San Francisco Giants players San Jose Giants players Texas Rangers players Toronto Blue Jays players Baseball players from San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic