Steven Chandler Okert (born July 9, 1991) 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

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 ...

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). He has previously played in MLB for the

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

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

, and

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 ...

. The Giants selected Okert in the fourth round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft.

Amateur career

Okert graduated from Rowlett High School in

Rowlett, Texas Rowlett (, traditionally ) is a city in Dallas and Rockwall Counties in Texas, United States, and an eastern suburb of Dallas. It is a growing, upscale community with nearly $1.5 billion in development in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, loc ...

. The

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 ...

selected him in the 43rd round of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft out of Grayson County College, but he did not sign and returned to Grayson. He was then drafted by the Brewers again in the 33rd round of the 2011 draft, but again did not sign and transferred to 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 ...

. In his lone season for the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

, he appeared in 30 games with five starts, going 9–8 with a 3.07

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) and 78

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

Professional career

San Francisco Giants

Minor leagues

The

selected Okert in the fourth round, with the 148th overall pick, of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. He made his professional debut that season for the Arizona League Giants and also played for the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes. He had a 2.20 ERA in innings. Okert played the 2013 season with the Augusta GreenJackets, recording a 2.97 ERA with 59 strikeouts in innings. He started 2014 with the San Jose Giants. After recording a 1.53 ERA, 19 saves and 54 strikeouts in innings, he was promoted to the Double-A

Richmond Flying Squirrels The Richmond Flying Squirrels are a Minor League Baseball team based in Richmond, Virginia. The team, which is a part of the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major league club, and plays at The Diamond. Th ...

. The Giants added him to their 40-man roster after the 2015 season.

Major leagues

Okert was called up to the

on April 19, 2016. Okert made his major league debut later that day against the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

. He pitched 2 scoreless innings, getting a batter to ground into a double play and recorded his first two major league strikeouts. Okert struck out in his first MLB at-bat, coming against left-handed relief pitcher Adam Liberatore of the Dodgers. In 16 games, Okert pitched 14 innings, recording 14 strikeouts with a 3.21 ERA. Okert started the 2017 season with Triple-A Sacramento, but was called up to the Giants in April. On May 3, 2017, Okert recorded his first major league win, pitching 1 innings of scoreless relief in an extra-inning victory over the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. Okert made 44 relief appearances and pitched 27 innings for the Giants during the 2017 season. In 10 appearances for the Giants in 2018, Okert logged a 1.23 ERA. Okert was designated for assignment by the Giants on March 23, 2019, and outrighted on March 26. He spent the year in Triple-A with the

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland ...

, posting a 8–2 record and 5.31 ERA in 50 appearances with the team. On November 4, he elected free agency.

Miami Marlins

On February 26, 2021, Okert signed a minor league contract with the

organization. He was assigned to the Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp to begin the year. In 15 appearances with Jacksonville, he logged a 2–0 record and 1.80 ERA. On June 29, Okert was selected to the active roster. He made 34 relief appearances for the Marlins, recording a 2.75 ERA with 40 strikeouts in 36 innings. Okert made 60 appearances out of the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

in 2022, registering a 5–5 record and 2.98 ERA with 63 strikeouts across innings pitched. In 2023, Okert made 64 appearances for Miami and saw a slight regression in his numbers, posting a 4.45 ERA with 73 strikeouts across innings of work.

Minnesota Twins

On February 11, 2024, the Marlins traded Okert to the

in exchange for Nick Gordon. In 44 appearances for Minnesota, he compiled a 5.09 ERA with 33 strikeouts across innings pitched. Okert was designated for assignment by the Twins on August 24. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple–A St. Paul Saints on August 26. Okert elected free agency on October 1.

Houston Astros

On November 5, 2024, Okert signed a minor league contract with the

. On March 27,

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

, the Astros selected Okert's contract after he made 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 ...

roster. He earned his first win an Astro on April 28, 2025, when he worked a scoreless sixth inning against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

before they rallied for an 8–5 win.

References

External links

Oklahoma Sooners bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okert, Steven 1991 births Living people Arizona League Giants players Augusta GreenJackets players Baseball players from Riverside, California Grayson Vikings baseball players Houston Astros players Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp players Major League Baseball pitchers Miami Marlins players Minnesota Twins players Oklahoma Sooners baseball players Richmond Flying Squirrels players Rowlett High School alumni Sacramento River Cats players Salem-Keizer Volcanoes players San Francisco Giants players San Jose Giants players Scottsdale Scorpions players St. Paul Saints players