A. J. Jiménez

Antonio Jamil Jiménez (born May 1, 1990) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers.

A. J. Jiménez
Jiménez with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2012
Catcher
Born: (1990-05-01) May 1, 1990
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 6, 2017, for the Texas Rangers
Last MLB appearance
October 1, 2017, for the Texas Rangers
MLB statistics
Batting average.083
Home runs0
Runs batted in0
Teams

Career

Toronto Blue Jays
Jiménez during his tenure with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2012 Spring Training

Jiménez was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 9th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball draft. After signing with the team, he was assigned to the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays and played in 19 games during the 2008 season, batting .191 with five RBI.[1] In 2009, Jiménez was promoted to the Class-A Lansing Lugnuts and recorded a batting average of .263, in addition to hitting three home runs and 31 RBI.[1] Jiménez played for Lansing, as well as the High-A Dunedin Blue Jays in the 2010 season, hitting a combined .299 with five home runs and 55 RBI over 72 games.[1] His entire 2011 season was played with Dunedin, where he hit .303 with four home runs and 52 RBI in 102 games played.[1]

Jiménez was promoted to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats in 2012 but played only 27 games that season, hitting .257,[1] before undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.[2] He was added to the Blue Jays' 40-man roster on November 20, 2012.[3] In 2013, Jiménez played for Dunedin initially, batting .429 in nine games, before being promoted to New Hampshire. In 50 games with the Fisher Cats, he batted .276 with three home runs and 29 RBI.[1] Jiménez was selected to appear in the 2013 All-Star Futures Game,[2] and was promoted to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on August 17, 2013.[4] He batted .233 in eight games with the Bisons in 2013.[1] While it was believed that he would be called up to Toronto for the September roster expansion, irritation in his surgically-repaired right elbow ruled him out for the rest of the season.[5] Jiménez started the 2014 campaign with the Fisher Cats, and was promoted to the Bisons on May 26.[6] He was placed on the disabled list on August 5, and activated on August 27.

Jiménez was optioned to the Buffalo Bisons on March 18, 2015. He was assigned to New Hampshire on April 16, and brought back up to Buffalo on April 23.[7] In June he underwent left wrist surgery.[8] Jiménez remained on the disabled list through the end of the season. He played in just 28 games in 2015, batting .194 with nine RBI.[1] On March 28, 2016, Jiménez was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays to make room on the 40-man roster for Jesús Montero.[9] He cleared waivers, and was outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo on April 7.[10] Jiménez played 67 games with Buffalo in 2016, and hit .241 with four home runs and 28 RBI.[1] On November 7, 2016, Jiménez was added to the 40-man roster.[11] He was designated for assignment on February 9, 2017,[12] and released on February 13.[13]

Texas Rangers

On February 17, 2017, Jiménez signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers organization and was invited to Major League spring training.[14][15] He was called up when major league rosters expanded on September 1, and outrighted to Triple-A on November 6, 2017.[16] He elected free agency on November 6, 2017.

Road Warriors

On April 13, 2018, Jiménez signed with the Road Warriors of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.

Personal life

A.J. is the older brother of pitcher Joe Jiménez.[17]

References
  1. "A.J. Jimenez Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  2. "Fully healthy, Blue Jays catching prospect A.J. Jimenez heading to Futures Game | bluejays.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. June 26, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  3. "Blue Jays roster moves". MLB.com. November 20, 2012. Archived from the original on December 1, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  4. "Nolin, Jimenez join Bisons from Double-A New Hampshire". Buffalo Bisons. August 17, 2013. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  5. Lott, John (September 2, 2013). "Blue Jays call up Ricky Romero, Kyle Drabek and three others for September". National Post. Archived from the original on 2013-09-03. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  6. "McGuire, Rogers, Jimenez added to Herd". Buffalo Bisons. May 26, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  7. "Catcher A.J. Jimenez promoted to Bisons". Buffalo Bisons. April 23, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  8. Davidi, Shi (August 6, 2015). "Blue Jays in position to contend beyond 2015". Sportsnet. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  9. Simmons, Jeff (March 28, 2016). "Blue Jays claim Jesus Montero off waivers from the Seattle Mariners". Sportsnet. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  10. "Toronto Blue Jays on Twitter". Twitter. April 7, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  11. "Toronto Blue Jays Transactions in November 2016". MLB.com. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  12. "Blue Jays designate A.J. Jimenez, Chad Girodo for assignment". Sportsnet. February 9, 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  13. "Blue Jays release catcher A.J. Jimenez". Sportsnet. February 13, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  14. "T.R. Sullivan on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  15. Adams, Steve (February 17, 2017). "Rangers Sign A.J. Jimenez To Minor League Deal". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  16. Adams, Steve (November 6, 2017). "Rangers Exercise Option On Perez, Decline Options On Barnette, Napoli". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  17. Chris McCosky (March 4, 2019). "Tigers will take look at Joe Jimenez's brother at open tryout". The Detroit News. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
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