Ryan Adam Merritt (born February 21, 1992) is an American 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, ...

who 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

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

in 2016 and 2017.

Career

Merritt was raised in

Celina, Texas Celina ( ) is a city in Collin and Denton counties in the U.S. state of Texas. Celina is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The population was 16,739 at the 2020 census, and according to 2024 census estimates, the city is estimated to ...

, and is a graduate of Celina High School, where he lettered in baseball and football. He then attended McLennan Community College.

Cleveland Indians

The

selected Merritt in the 16th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft. Merritt spent the next five seasons in the Indians' farm system. In 2014, he had a 13–3 win–loss record and a 2.58

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) for the

Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and play their home games ...

, and followed that up with 12 wins in 2015 between the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, merch ...

and the Akron Aeros, the Indians' Triple–A and Double–A affiliates. The Indians added him to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

on November 20, 2014. Merritt started Game 5 of the 2016 American League Championship Series, just his second major league start; he pitched shutout innings against Toronto, giving up two hits and striking out three. Merritt is one of only two pitchers in MLB history to have started just one game in the regular season before pitching in the postseason, the other being Matt Moore. On July 13, 2018, Merritt 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 Indians. After clearing waivers, he cleared waivers and was outrighted to the minor leagues on July 21. He elected free agency following the season on November 2.

Tampa Bay Rays

On November 14, 2018, Merritt signed a minor league deal with the

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 spent the 2019 season with the

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 ...

, the Rays' Triple–A affiliate, and had a 7.04 ERA in 27 games. Merritt elected free agency following the season on November 4, 2019.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merritt, Ryan 1992 births Living people Baseball players from McKinney, Texas Major League Baseball pitchers Cleveland Indians players McLennan Highlanders baseball players Arizona League Indians players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Lake County Captains players Carolina Mudcats players Akron RubberDucks players Columbus Clippers players Durham Bulls players Leones del Escogido players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic