Ralph Albert Garza Jr. (born April 6, 1994) 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 ...

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, ...

for 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 ...

. He has previously played for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

, 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 ...

. He was drafted by the Astros in the 26th round of the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

Professional career

Houston Astros

Garza was drafted by the

in the 26th round, 769th overall, of the

out of the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

. He made his professional debut with the Low-A

Tri-City ValleyCats The Tri-City ValleyCats are a professional baseball team based in Albany, New York. The ValleyCats compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the North Division in the Atlantic Conference. The team was established in 2002, along with the ...

. Garza split the 2016 season between 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 ...

and the High-A

Lancaster JetHawks The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They were named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and played their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League B ...

, posting a 6–5 record and 3.35 ERA with 64 strikeouts. In 2017, he played for the High-A

Buies Creek Astros The Fayetteville Woodpeckers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and play their home games at Segra Stadium. From 2017 to 201 ...

, the Double-A

Corpus Christi Hooks The Corpus Christi Hooks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and are named for the city's association with fishing. The team is owned b ...

, and the 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 ...

, accumulating a 3–3 record and 4.22 ERA in 36 appearances. He split the 2018 season between Fresno and Corpus Christi, pitching to a 7–2 record and 3.51 ERA in 66.2 innings of work. He spent 2019 in Triple-A with the

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 ...

, registering an 8–1 record and 4.04 ERA in 42 appearances. Garza did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor 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 ...

. He was added to the Astros’ 60-man player pool for the season, but did not appear for the team. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Sugar Land Skeeters The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. They are located in Sugar Land, Texas, part of the G ...

to begin the 2021 season, and recorded 6.2 scoreless innings across 3 games to begin the year. On May 26,

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, the Astros selected Garza for the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. Garza made his MLB debut on May 29, pitching in relief in the 12th inning of a game against the

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

. In the game, he notched his first major league strikeout, punching out Padres catcher Víctor Caratini, but surrendered a 3-run home run to

Wil Myers William Bradford Myers (born December 10, 1990) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres, and Cincinnati Reds. Originally drafted ...

and was credited with the loss. Garza won his first game as a pitcher on July 11. He was sent to relieve Blake Taylor in the eighth inning with the Astros down 7-2. He pitched the final five outs and allowed zero runs on three strikeouts and walks as the Astros won in the bottom of the ninth inning. On August 1, Garza 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 ...

by the Astros.

Minnesota Twins

On August 4, 2021, Garza was claimed off of waivers by the

. He was assigned to the Triple-A

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They previ ...

. He made three appearances for St. Paul, allowing three runs in innings. He was designated for assignment by the Twins on March 22, 2022.

Tampa Bay Rays

On March 24, 2022, Garza was claimed off waivers by 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 ...

. On April 7, 2022, Garza was claimed off of waivers by the

, after he was designated for assignment by the Red Sox. In 19 games, he posted a 3.34 ERA in 35 innings. He was designated for assignment on August 20. Garza cleared waivers and was sent outright to 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 ...

on August 23. He elected free agency following the season on November 10.

Toros de Tijuana

On January 8, 2024, Garza signed with the

of the

. In 41 appearances for Tijuana, he compiled a 3–2 record and 1.30 ERA with 28 strikeouts across innings pitched.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garza, Ralph 1994 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Baseball players from Hidalgo County, Texas Buies Creek Astros players Caribes de Anzoátegui players Corpus Christi Hooks players Durham Bulls players Fresno Grizzlies players Houston Astros players Lancaster JetHawks players Major League Baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players Oklahoma Sooners baseball players People from Edinburg, Texas Quad Cities River Bandits players Round Rock Express players St. Paul Saints players Sugar Land Skeeters players Sultanes de Monterrey players Tampa Bay Rays players Toros de Tijuana players 21st-century American sportsmen Tri-City ValleyCats players Leones del Escogido players