Yency Almonte (born June 4, 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, ...

in the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

organization. He has previously 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

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

and

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 ...

Career

Almonte attended Christopher Columbus High School in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Los Angeles Angels

The

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

selected him in the 17th round of the

2012 Major League Baseball draft The 2012 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto Rico Baseball Ac ...

. He signed and made his professional debut that year with the

Arizona League Angels The Arizona Complex League Angels are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Tempe Diablo Stadium in Te ...

where he pitched three innings. He pitched 2013 with the

Orem Owlz The Orem Owlz were a Minor League Baseball team located in Orem, Utah, United States, from 2001 to 2020. The team competed in the Pioneer League as a Rookie League affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. The Owlz played their home games at Home o ...

where he was 3–3 with a 6.92 ERA in 13 games (11 starts) and 2014 with the

Burlington Bees The Burlington Bees are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Burlington, Iowa, and have played their home games at Community Field since 1947. Founded in 1889, the Bees played in Minor League Baseball' ...

where he compiled a 2–5 record and 4.93 ERA in nine starts.

Chicago White Sox

On February 4, 2015, the Angels traded Almonte to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

as the

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

from an earlier trade for

Gordon Beckham James Gordon Beckham III (born September 16, 1986) is an American former professional baseball infielder who serves as a fill-in sportscaster for the Atlanta Braves and Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Wh ...

. He pitched that season with the

Kannapolis Intimidators Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan Counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte, and is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The city of Kannapolis was incorporated in 1984. ...

and

Winston-Salem Dash The Winston-Salem Dash are a Minor League Baseball team in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They are a High-A team in the South Atlantic League and have been a farm team of the Chicago White Sox since 1997. The Dash began playing their home games ...

where he posted a combined 11–7 record and 3.41 ERA in 24 games (22 starts).

Colorado Rockies

On November 24, 2015, the White Sox traded Almonte to the

for Tommy Kahnle. He spent the 2016 season with the

Modesto Nuts The Modesto Nuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Modesto, California, and are named for the several types of nuts grown in the Central Valley. They ...

and

Hartford Yard Goats The Hartford Yard Goats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The Yard Goats, which play in the Eastern League, are the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The team was founded in 2016 when the New Britain Ro ...

, compiling a combined 11–10 record and 3.58 ERA in 27 starts. The Rockies added him to their 40-man roster after the season. He spent 2017 with Hartford and the

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an ...

where he was 8–4 with a 2.91 ERA in 22 games (21 starts). He began 2018 with the Isotopes. On June 21, 2018, the Rockies promoted Almonte to the major leagues. He made his major league debut that same night, pitching one scoreless inning of relief against 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 ...

Coors Field Coors Field is a baseball stadium in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies. Opened in 1995 Major League Baseball season, 1995, the park is located in Denver's LoDo, Lower Downtown neighborhood, ...

. Almonte finished the 2018 season with a 1.84 ERA in innings of work. In 2019, Almonte pitched to a 5.86 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched. Almonte kept the Rockies from having the worst bullpen in the league in 2020 after recording a 2.93 ERA in 24 appearances, 18 of which were scoreless. In 48 appearances for the Rockies in 2021, Almonte registered a 7.55 ERA with 47 strikeouts in innings pitched. On October 21, 2021, he was outrighted off of the 40-man roster and elected free agency on November 7.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On March 13, 2022, Almonte signed a minor league contract with the

. He was added to the major league roster on May 12. In 33 games, he allowed only four runs in innings. On January 13, 2023, Almonte agreed to a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Dodgers, avoiding salary arbitration. He pitched in 49 games with a 3–2 record with a 5.06 ERA but missed the last month and a half of the season with a sprained

medial collateral ligament The medial collateral ligament (MCL), also called the superficial medial collateral ligament (sMCL) or tibial collateral ligament (TCL), is one of the major ligaments of the knee. It is on the medial (inner) side of the knee joint and occurs in ...

in his right knee. On November 17, 2023, Almonte signed a $1.9 million contract with the Dodgers for the 2024 season, to avoid arbitration.

Chicago Cubs

On January 11, 2024, Almonte and Michael Busch were traded to the

in exchange for Jackson Ferris and Zyhir Hope. He began the year out of Chicago's

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 ...

, compiling a 3.45 ERA with 20 strikeouts across 17 games. Almonte was placed on the injured list with a right shoulder strain on May 8, and was transferred to the 60–day injured list on June 27. On July 5, it was announced that Almonte would undergo season–ending shoulder surgery. On November 4, Almonte was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright 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. T ...

, but he rejected the assignment and elected free agency. On March 4, 2025, Almonte re-signed with the Cubs organization on a minor league contract.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Almonte, Yency 1994 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players 21st-century American sportsmen Arizona League Angels players Baseball players from Miami Burlington Bees players Chicago Cubs players Colorado Rockies players Hartford Yard Goats players Kannapolis Intimidators players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Modesto Nuts players Oklahoma City Dodgers players Orem Owlz players Salt River Rafters players Winston-Salem Dash players