Raimel Antonio Tapia Linarez (born February 4, 1994) is a Dominican 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 ...

for the

Sultanes de Monterrey The Sultanes de Monterrey (English: Monterrey Sultans) are a professional baseball club in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Monterrey, Mexico. Established in 1939 as Carta Blanca, the Sultanes have won ten LMB titles, most recently in 2018. Fro ...

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

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

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

Career

Colorado Rockies

The

signed Tapia as an international

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 2010. He spent the 2013 season with the

Grand Junction Rockies The Grand Junction Jackalopes are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Grand Junction, Colorado, and play their home games ...

of the

Rookie-level Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National L ...

Pioneer League, and was named the league's player of the month for July. He had a 29-game

hitting streak In baseball, a hitting streak is the number of consecutive official games in which a player appears and gets at least one base hit. According to the Official Baseball Rules, such a streak is not necessarily ended when a player has at least 1 pl ...

for Grand Junction. After the season, he was named the

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Pioneer League Player of the Year for 2013 and was named by

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as the No. 97 prospect in all of baseball prior to the 2014 season. The Rockies added him to their 40-man roster after the 2015 season.Tapia began the 2016 season with the

Hartford Yard Goats The Hartford Yard Goats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The Yard Goats, which play in the Eastern League, are the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The team was founded in 2016 when the New Britain Ro ...

of the Double–A Eastern League, and was selected to appear in the 2016

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. The Rockies promoted him to the

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 ...

of the Triple–A

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

in August. The Rockies promoted Tapia to the major leagues on September 2, 2016. On July 20, 2018, Tapia hit a two out, two strike, go-ahead pinch hit

grand slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

in the top of the 7th inning against

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reliever Archie Bradley to give the Rockies an 11–8 lead. It was the first grand slam of Tapia's career and would ultimately prove to be the difference as the Rockies would go on to win the game 11–10. In 2018, in 25 at bats he hit .200/.259/.480. He had the fastest baserunning sprint speed of all major league designated hitters, at 28.6 feet/second. Tapia received more playing time in 2020 after

Ian Desmond Ian Morgan Desmond (born September 20, 1985) is an American former professional baseball shortstop and outfielder. He played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Nationals, Texas Rangers and Colorado Rockies. Desmond is a ...

opted out of the 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 ...

. In 51 games, Tapia hit .321, drove in 17 runs, and stole eight bases. In 2021 he batted .273/.327/.372. He had the highest ground ball/fly ball ratio in the major leagues, at 4.10, the highest ground ball percentage, at 67.4%, and the lowest fly ball percentage, at 16.4%.

Toronto Blue Jays

On March 24, 2022, Tapia and Adrian Pinto were traded to the

in exchange for Randal Grichuk. On July 22, 2022, in the top of the 3rd inning, Tapia hit an inside the park

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...

against the

, the second in franchise history. The Blue Jays would go on to win the game 28–5, setting a franchise record for the most runs scored in a single game. On November 15, 2022, Tapia 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 ...

. He was non-tendered and became a free agent on November 18.

Boston Red Sox

On January 26, 2023, Tapia signed a minor-league contract with the

and was named a non-roster invitee 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 ...

. An impressive spring training performance got him added to the major-league roster for the team's

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

game. However, a roster crunch and an logjam in Boston's outfield meant Tapia was the odd man out, and he was designated for assignment by the Red Sox after

Christian Arroyo Christian Israel Arroyo (born May 30, 1995) is an American professional baseball infielder in the Philadelphia Phillies organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland ...

was activated from the injured list on June 5. Tapia was released by Boston on June 11. In 39 games for Boston, Tapia hit .264/.333/.368 with one home run, ten RBI, and nine stolen bases.

Milwaukee Brewers

On June 14, 2023, Tapia signed a major league contract with the

. In 20 games for Milwaukee, he struggled to a .173/.267/.288 batting line with 2 home runs and 3 RBI. On July 22, Tapia was designated for assignment by the Brewers following the promotion of Sal Frelick. He elected free agency upon clearing waivers on July 24.

Tampa Bay Rays

On August 3, 2023, Tapia signed a minor league contract with the

. In 29 games for the Triple–A

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

, he batted .269/.371/.414 with 4 home runs and 11 RBI. Tampa Bay selected his contract and added him to the active roster on September 23. In 5 games for the Rays, he went 3–for–9 (.333) with two stolen bases. Following the season on November 4, Tapia was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to Triple–A Durham. He elected free agency on November 6.

Sultanes de Monterrey

On April 15, 2025, Tapia signed with the

of the

Scouting report

Tapia has been noted for altering his batting stance during at-bats. He generally stands at the plate with an upright stance except when there are two strikes against him, at which point he crouches deeply.Piellucci, Mik
Can Raimel Tapia's Unorthodox Swing Trump Baseball's Conventional Wisdom?
''Vice Sports''. March 20, 2016

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tapia, Raimel 1994 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players Asheville Tourists players Baseball players from San Pedro de Macorís Boston Red Sox players Colorado Rockies players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Rockies players Durham Bulls players Estrellas Orientales players Grand Junction Rockies players Hartford Yard Goats players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Milwaukee Brewers players Modesto Nuts players Salt River Rafters players Tampa Bay Rays players Toronto Blue Jays players