Rainel Rosario (born March 29, 1989) is a Dominican-Mexican 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 Dorados de Chihuahua 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

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

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda ...

, and in the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

(CPBL) for the

Uni-President Lions The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions, stylized as Uni-President 7-ᴇʟᴇᴠᴇn Lions, also known as Uni-Lions (), are a professional baseball team playing in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). The Lions are based in Tainan City, Ta ...

Career

St. Louis Cardinals

Rosario signed with 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 ...

organization as an international free agent in 2006. He played the 2007 and 2008 seasons with the rookie-level

Gulf Coast League Cardinals The Florida Complex League Cardinals or FCL Cardinals are a rookie league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Cardinals. ...

, batting .096 and .243 respectively. In 2009, Rosario played for the rookie-level

Johnson City Cardinals The Johnson City Cardinals were a Minor League Baseball team based in Johnson City, Tennessee. The team was affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals organization from 1975 through 2020 and played in the Rookie League, Rookie-level Appalachian Leagu ...

, batting .272/.350/.408 in 36 contests. He split the 2010 season between the Low-A

Batavia Muckdogs The Batavia Muckdogs are a collegiate summer baseball team in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL). They are located in Batavia, a city in Genesee County, New York, United States. Their home field is Dwyer Stadium in the city o ...

and the Single-A

Quad Cities River Bandits The Quad Cities River Bandits are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Their home games are played at Modern Woodmen Park (formerly John O'Donnell Stadium) in Davenport, Iowa, on ...

, accumulating a .284/.387/.507 batting line in 64 games. He spent the next year with the High-A

Palm Beach Cardinals The Palm Beach Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roge ...

, slashing .270/.333/.398 with 9 home runs and 70 RBI in 122 games. He split 2012 between Palm Beach and the Double-A

Springfield Cardinals The Springfield Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springfield, Missouri. They are members of the Texas League's North Division and serve as the Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Springfield Cardinals began pl ...

, batting .213/.282/.288 in 121 games between the clubs. On November 2, 2012, Rosario elected free agency.

Hiroshima Toyo Carp

Rosario played the 2014 and 2015 seasons in Japan for the

. In two seasons for Hiroshima, Rosario batted .309/.370/.503 with 16 home runs and 61 RBI.

Boston Red Sox

On December 12, 2015 he signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

and was assigned to their Double-A affiliate, the

Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red ...

, to start the 2016 season. He split the year between Portland and the Triple-A

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

, batting .248 in 103 games between the two clubs before electing free agency on November 7, 2016.

Saraperos de Saltillo

On March 30, 2017, Rosario signed with the Saraperos de Saltillo of the

. In 2017, Rosario batted a stellar .331/.406/.472 with 26 home runs and 104 RBI in 108 games. He played the entire 2018 season with the Saraperos, hitting 10 home runs with 50 RBI. In 2019, Rosario played in 114 games for Saltillo, slashing .324/.407/.569 with 28 home runs and 91 RBI. Rosario did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Mexican League 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 ...

Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions

On August 12, 2022, Rosario signed with the

Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions, stylized as Uni-President 7-ᴇʟᴇᴠᴇn Lions, also known as Uni-Lions (), are a professional baseball team playing in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). The Lions are based in Tainan City, T ...

of the

. He played in 35 games for the Lions, batting .232/.296/.370 with 4 home runs and 21 RBI.

Saraperos de Saltillo (second stint)

On March 16, 2023, Rosario signed with the Saraperos de Saltillo of the

. On June 18, Rosario beat his teammate, Fernando Villegas, to win the 2023 Home Run Derby. For the season, he batted .331/.429/.581 with 17 home runs and 49 RBI. Rosario returned in 2024, hitting .261/.335/.376 with four home runs and 19 RBI across 40 games.

Bravos de León

On June 14, 2024, Rosario and Henry Urrutia were traded to the

Bravos de León The Bravos de León (English: León Braves) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in León, Guanajuato, Mexico. History Cachorros de León (1979–80) Mexican League baseball in León began in 1979 when the Alijadore ...

of the

in exchange for infielders Keven Lamas and

Alejandro Mejía Alejandro Mejía (born March 10, 1993) is a Dominican professional baseball first baseman and third baseman for the Dorados de Chihuahua of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hiroshima Toyo ...

. In 37 appearances for León, he batted .328/.445/.552 with seven home runs and 28 RBI. Rosario returned to León for a second season in 2025, he played in eight games slashing .333/.438/.630 with one home run and five RBI.

Dorados de Chihuahua

On April 29, 2025, Rosario was loaned to the Dorados de Chihuahua for the remainder of the season.

International career

In June 2023, Rosario represented

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

at the

2023 Central American and Caribbean Games The 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games (Spanish language, Spanish: Juegos Deportivos Centroamericanos y del Caribe San Salvador 2023), also known as the 24th Central American and Caribbean Games and commonly known as San Salvador 2023, wa ...

, where the team won the gold medal.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosario, Rainel 1989 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players Batavia Muckdogs players Baseball players at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Japan Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Cardinals players Gulf Coast Cardinals players Hiroshima Toyo Carp players Johnson City Cardinals players Leones del Escogido players Mexican League baseball first basemen Mexican League baseball right fielders Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Palm Beach Cardinals players Pawtucket Red Sox players Portland Sea Dogs players Quad Cities River Bandits players Saraperos de Saltillo players Springfield Cardinals players Tomateros de Culiacán players Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Mexico Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in baseball