Guillermo Heredia (baseball)

Guillermo Heredia Molina Jr. (born January 31, 1991) is a Cuban professional baseball outfielder for the SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). He made his MLB debut in 2016. He previously played for the Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Mets and Atlanta Braves. He bats right-handed and throws left-handed.

Guillermo Heredia
Heredia with the Braves in 2022
SSG Landers – No. 27
Outfielder
Born: (1991-01-31) January 31, 1991
Matanzas, Cuba
Bats: Right
Throws: Left
Professional debut
MLB: July 29, 2016, for the Seattle Mariners
KBO: April 1, 2023, for the SSG Landers
MLB statistics
(through 2022 season)
Batting average.231
Home runs27
Runs batted in114
KBO statistics
(through August 30, 2023)
Batting average.337
Home runs11
Runs batted in61
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Professional career

Heredia played for the Cuba national baseball team at the 2013 World Baseball Classic.[1] He played for Matanzas in the Cuban National Series since 2009. He defected from Cuba in January 2015, to pursue a contract with a Major League Baseball team.[2]

Seattle Mariners
Heredia with the Mariners in 2017

On February 23, 2016, the Seattle Mariners signed Heredia to a one-year major league contract for $500,000.[3] He made his major league debut on July 29, 2016.[4] He spent most of his time on the Mariners in 2016 as a late-innings defensive replacement. He played in the Arizona Fall League to work on making his swing more compact before the start of the 2017 season.[5]

Tampa Bay Rays

On November 8, 2018, Heredia was traded, along with Mike Zunino and Michael Plassmeyer, to the Tampa Bay Rays for Mallex Smith and Jake Fraley.[6] In his first season with the Rays, he hit .225 in 89 games. On December 2, 2019, Heredia was non-tendered by Tampa Bay and became a free agent.[7]

Pittsburgh Pirates

On January 9, 2020, Heredia signed a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates.[8] On August 24, 2020, Heredia was designated for assignment by the Pirates after only playing in 8 games on the year.[9]

New York Mets

On August 28, 2020, Heredia was claimed by the New York Mets on waivers.[10]

On September 21, 2020, Heredia made his debut with the Mets. He started the Mets' next game as well, and hit a home run against John Curtiss.[11]

Heredia was designated for assignment on February 21, 2021 after the Mets signed outfielder Kevin Pillar.[12]

Atlanta Braves

On February 24, 2021, Heredia was claimed off waivers by the Atlanta Braves.[13] On April 18, Heredia hit two home runs, one a grand slam, to become the first Braves player to record 6+ RBIs in a game from the No. 8 spot in the lineup since the RBI became an official stat in 1920.[14] As the season went on, Heredia adopted a sword slashing movement as a celebratory gesture, which was picked up by his teammates.[15][16]

In 2021 he batted .220/.311/.354 with 5 home runs and 26 RBIs.[17] On November 30, 2021, the Braves signed Heredia to a one-year, $1 million contract.[18]

On November 15, 2022, Heredia was designated for assignment.[19] Three days later, he was non-tendered and became a free agent.[20]

SSG Landers

On December 11, 2022, Heredia signed with the SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization.[21]

References
  1. "World Baseball Classic: Cuba: Team - Cuba". World Baseball Classic. Archived from the original on 2013-04-12. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  2. Badler, Ben (January 21, 2015). "Guillermo Heredia Leaves Cuba". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  3. Johns, Greg (February 23, 2016). "Source: Mariners ink Cuban center fielder Heredia". MLB.com. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
  4. Divish, Ryan (July 29, 2016). "Mariners call up Cuban outfielder Guillermo Heredia for big-league debut". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  5. Divish, Ryan (2017-02-26). "A more comfortable Guillermo Heredia is ready to grab a spot on the Mariners' opening day roster". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  6. Johns, Greg (November 8, 2018). "Mariners complete Zunino-Mallex deal". MLB.com. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  7. Topkin, Marc (December 2, 2019). "Rays non-tender OF Guillermo Heredia, keep reliever Chaz Roe". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  8. Berry, Adam (January 9, 2020). "Pirates finalize 1-year deal with OF Heredia". MLB.com. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  9. Adams, Steve (August 24, 2020). "Pirates Claim Carson Fulmer, Designate Guillermo Heredia". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  10. "Mets claim OF Guillermo Heredia". MLB.com. August 28, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  11. Toscano, Justin (September 22, 2020). "Instant analysis: Mets beat Rays as they look to remain alive in postseason hunt". NorthJersey.com. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  12. Polishuk, Mark (February 21, 2021). "Mets Designate Guillermo Heredia For Assignment". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  13. "Braves claim Guillermo Heredia off waivers from Mets". Associated Press News. February 25, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2023. Republished by ESPN, NBC Sports, San Diego Union-Tribune
  14. "Guillermo Heredia is the first @Braves player to have 6+ RBIs in a game from the No. 8 spot in the lineup since RBIs became an official stat in 1920". Twitter. April 18, 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  15. Clair, Michael (October 19, 2021). "Where did Heredia's pink swords come from?". MLB.com. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  16. O'Brien, David (October 20, 2021). "Guillermo Heredia and his swords have become an integral part of Braves' season". The Athletic. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  17. "Guillermo Heredia Stats". Baseball-Reference.com.
  18. Bowman, Mark (November 30, 2021). "Braves complete deals with Arcia, Heredia". MLB.com. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  19. Ladson, Bill (November 15, 2022). "Braves protect trio ahead of Rule 5 Draft". MLB.com.
  20. "These players have been non-tendered". MLB.com. November 18, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  21. @MyKBO (December 11, 2022). "Earlier today SSG announced that they signed Guillermo Heredia for $1 million ($900K salary, $100K incentives)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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