Trevor Hildenberger, nicknamed Hildy (born December 15, 1990), 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, ...

. He was drafted in the 22nd round of the

2014 Major League Baseball Draft The 2014 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June 6, and the last 30 round ...

and made his

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 ...

debut in 2017 for the

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 ...

. He also played for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

Career

Hildenberger attended

Archbishop Mitty High School Archbishop Mitty High School affectionately known as Mitty by its staff, students and alumni is a private Catholic high school located in San Jose, California, United States. The school is named for John Joseph Mitty, the fourth Archbishop of S ...

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

. He then played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. As a senior, his 10 saves tied the school’s single-season record, and he was 3-3 with a 2.83 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 47.2 innings.

Minnesota Twins

He was drafted by the

in the 22nd round of the

, and signed. He made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast Twins that same year, before being promoted to the

Elizabethton Twins The Elizabethton Twins were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They were located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and were named for their Major League Baseball, major league aff ...

. In 29 relief innings pitched between the two teams he compiled a 1–4 record and 2.48 ERA. He was named a GCL post-season All Star. He started 2015 with the

Cedar Rapids Kernels The Cedar Rapids Kernels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and play their home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium (Cedar Rapids), Veter ...

, and was eventually called up to the

Fort Myers Miracle The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex at ...

. In 41 appearances out of the bullpen between Cedar Rapids and Fort Myers, he was 3–2 with a 1.55 ERA and an 0.72 WHIP. He also played in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

after the 2015 season. Hildenberger spent 2016 with Fort Myers and the

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

. He compiled a 3–4 record, a 0.75 ERA, and a 0.79 WHIP in 38 relief appearances. Hildenberger's 2017 began with the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...

, and on June 23 the

Twins Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two e ...

purchased his contract from Rochester, with Hildenberger making his MLB debut the same day. In 21 appearances for the Red Wings prior to his call-up he was 2–1 with a 2.05 ERA. In his debut against 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 ...

, Hildenberger allowed a hit and struck out one in his lone inning of work. He spent the remainder of 2017 with the Twins, going 3–3 with a 3.21 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 42 innings. He began the 2018 season with the Twins, collecting 7 saves in 73 appearances. In 2019, he excelled during the first month of the season before struggling the following month, leading to his demotion to AAA. On December 2, 2019, Hildenberger was non-tendered by Minnesota and became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

Boston Red Sox

On January 11, 2020, Hildenberger signed a minor league deal 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 ...

that included an invitation to

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

. Hildenberger 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 became a free agent following the season on November 2.

New York Mets

On December 8, 2020, Hildenberger signed a minor league contract with the

organization. He was selected to the Mets' roster on April 8, 2021, replacing the injured Dellin Betances. After allowing four earned runs in innings, Hildenberger 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 ...

on May 15, 2021.

San Francisco Giants

On May 18, 2021, Hildenberger was claimed off waivers by 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 ...

and assigned to the Triple-A

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 ...

. On May 21, Hildenberger was designated for assignment by the Giants. He was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to Triple-A Sacramento on May 26. He made 20 appearances for Sacramento, posting a 2-1 record and 4.70 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 25.2 innings pitched. Hildenberger became a free agent following the season, but re-signed with the Giants on a minor league contract on December 1. Hildenberger began the 2022 season on the injured list of 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 ...

after suffering an undisclosed injury. After an initial rehab assignment with the

Arizona League Giants The Arizona Complex League Giants are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the San Francisco Giants in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Scottsdale Stadium in Sc ...

was halted in August, he began rehabbing again with the Single-A

San Jose Giants The San Jose Giants are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Located in San Jose, California, the Giants play their home games at Excite Ballpark. Games San Jose Giants g ...

on September 14, 2022. On September 19, he was activated from the injured list and assigned to Triple-A. In 4 games following his activation, he logged a 2.08 ERA with 2 strikeouts in 4.1 innings pitched. On February 6, 2023, Hildenberger re-signed with the Giants on another minor league contract. He began the year in Triple-A with Sacramento, making 5 appearances which included one start. He struggled immensely however, surrendering 12 runs (10 earned) on 10 hits with 4 strikeouts and 9 walks in 5.2 innings pitched. On April 20, Hildenberger was released by the organization.

References

External links

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California Golden Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hildenberger, Trevor 1990 births Living people Arizona Complex League Giants players Baseball players from San Jose, California California Golden Bears baseball players Cedar Rapids Kernels players Chattanooga Lookouts players Elizabethton Twins players Fort Myers Miracle players Gulf Coast Twins players Major League Baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players New York Mets players Rochester Red Wings players Sacramento River Cats players Scottsdale Scorpions players Syracuse Mets players Archbishop Mitty High School alumni