Randy David Wells (born August 28, 1982) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

Professional career

Wells was drafted by the

in the 38th round (1,143rd overall) of the

2002 MLB draft The 2002 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 4 and 5. It is featured in Michael Lewis' 2003 book '' Moneyball''. First round selections Supplemental first round compensation selections * ...

as a catcher. He spent his career in the Chicago Cubs farm system from to before being claimed in the Rule 5 Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays before the season. Wells made the opening day roster and made his debut on April 5, , against the Boston Red Sox and pitched a scoreless inning. It was his only appearance for the Blue Jays because he was designated for assignment on April 9, 2008. Wells was returned to the Cubs organization on April 16, and was assigned to the Triple-A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The ...

. On September 9, 2008, the Cubs placed Jon Lieber on the 60-day DL and called up Wells to replace him on the roster. After

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

in 2009, he was returned to the

. Wells was called up to the Cubs active roster on May 5, 2009 in place of the injured Carlos Zambrano. He made his first start on May 8 against the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

and struck out five batters in five scoreless innings, but despite leaving the game with a 2–0 lead, the Cubs' bullpen gave up three runs and eventually lost 3–2. Wells got his first Major League win on June 21, 2009 in a 6–2 win over a struggling and injury plagued Cleveland Indians. On July 29, he became the first Cub rookie pitcher to win seven games since Kerry Wood did it in 1998, when he threw eight shutout innings in a 12–0 Cubs win over the last place Astros. Wells was designated for assignment by the Cubs on June 27, 2012. At the time, he was 1–2 with a 5.34 ERA in 12 games (four starts). On October 6, 2012, Wells elected free agency. On December 6, 2012, Wells signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers organization. On April 30, he announced his retirement.

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Randy 1982 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Sportspeople from Belleville, Illinois Baseball players from Chicago Major League Baseball pitchers Toronto Blue Jays players Chicago Cubs players Boise Hawks players Arizona League Cubs players Lansing Lugnuts players Daytona Cubs players Southwestern Illinois Blue Storm baseball players West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players Iowa Cubs players Peoria Chiefs players Round Rock Express players