James Pazos

James Manuel Pazos (pronounced PAH-zohse;[1] born May 5, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has also played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, and Colorado Rockies. He was drafted by the Yankees in the 13th round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft.

James Pazos
Pazos with the Seattle Mariners
Free agent
Pitcher
Born: (1991-05-05) May 5, 1991
Gilbert, Arizona, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Left
MLB debut
September 5, 2015, for the New York Yankees
MLB statistics
(through 2020)
Win–loss record9–6
Earned run average3.95
Strikeouts127
Teams

Early life

Pazos was born in Gilbert, Arizona, to Julio and Teresa Pazos.[2][3] His mother competed in volleyball at South Carolina University, and his father competed in wrestling, football, and track at Arizona State University.[2]

Amateur career

Pazos attended and played baseball for Highland High School in Gilbert, Arizona, from which he graduated in 2009.[4] He was second-team All-Region as a sophomore, All-Region as a junior, and All State and Fiesta Region Pitcher of the Year as a senior.[2][5] He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 40th round of the 2009 MLB draft. Pazos did not sign with Tampa Bay.[2]

Pazos enrolled at Chandler–Gilbert Community College to play college baseball. He pitched for the Coyotes in 2010, and had a 9–4 win–loss record and a 1.94 earned run average (ERA) in 95 innings.[4][2] After one year, he transferred to the University of San Diego to play for the Toreros for the next two seasons.[4] As a sophomore, he was 3–5 with a 3.40 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 42+1⁄3 innings.[2] As a junior, he was 5–1 and had a 2.14 ERA in 63 innings, a WHIP of 0.94, and averaged a strikeout an inning.[6][7] He was named to the 2012 Rawlings All-West Coast Conference First Team.[5]

Professional career

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees selected Pazos in the 13th round of the 2012 MLB draft, and he signed for a signing bonus of $100,000.[8][9] He made his professional debut with the Staten Island Yankees of the Class A-Short Season New York-Penn League, going 2–1 with three saves and a 1.79 ERA in 28 relief appearances, with 39 strikeouts in 40.1 innings, and was named a mid-season NYPL All Star.[10]

He spent 2013 with Staten Island and the Charleston RiverDogs in the Class A South Atlantic League. He pitched to a combined 3–1 record with one save and 33 strikeouts and a 3.93 ERA in 34+1⁄3 innings pitched out of the bullpen. After the season, he played for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League, pitching 10.1 innings.[11]

Pazos played in 2014 with the Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League and the Trenton Thunder of the Class AA Eastern League. He compiled a combined 0–3 record with 10 saves (4th-most among Yankee minor leaguers) and a 2.42 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 67 relief innings, averaging 10.1 strikeouts per 9 innings.[12][5]

In 2015, between Trenton and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of the Class AAA International League, he was 3–1 with three saves and a 1.27 ERA, and 49 strikeouts in 42+2⁄3 innings, averaging 10.3 strikeouts per 9 innings.[10] The Yankees promoted Pazos to the major leagues on September 1, and he made his major league debut on September 5.[13] With the Yankees in 2015, he pitched five scoreless innings.[14]

In 2016, Pazos split time between the Yankees and the minors. In the minors, pitching primarily for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, he was 2–2 with one save and a 2.32 ERA, and 47 strikeouts in 31 innings, averaging 13.6 strikeouts per 9 innings.[10] In 3+1⁄3 innings for the Yankees, he gave up five earned runs while winning one game.[15]

Seattle Mariners

The Yankees traded Pazos to the Seattle Mariners for Zack Littell on November 18, 2016.[16] In 2017 with Seattle, he was 4–5 with a 3.86 ERA, as in 53.2 innings he had 65 strikeouts, averaging 10.9 strikeouts per 9 innings.[14]

In 2018 with Seattle, he was 4–1 with a 2.88 ERA. In 50 innings in a career-high 60 games he gave up 47 hits and 15 walks, and had 45 strikeouts.[17][5] He threw a sinker 91.8% of the time, tops in MLB.[18]

Philadelphia Phillies

On December 3, 2018, the Mariners traded Pazos, Jean Segura, and Juan Nicasio to the Philadelphia Phillies for Carlos Santana and J. P. Crawford.[19] He began the 2019 season with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs of the International League.[20] Pazos was designated for assignment on April 24, 2019, after pitching to a 6.14 ERA in both spring training and AAA.

Colorado Rockies

On April 26, 2019, Pazos was traded to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for infielder Hunter Stovall. Pitching for the Albuquerque Isotopes in 2019 he was 1–3 with one save and a 8.80 ERA in 39 games (44.0 innings).[21] Pitching for the Rockies he was 0–0 with a 1.74 ERA in 12 games (10.1 innings).[21] With the 2020 Colorado Rockies, Pazos appeared in 6 games, compiling a 0–0 record with 16.88 ERA and 1 strikeout in 5.1 innings pitched.[5] Pazos was designated for assignment by the Rockies on September 28, 2020.[22] Pazos elected free agency on October 9.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On December 11, 2020, Pazos signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.[23] He spent the entire 2021 season with the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers, where he was 1–6 in 48 games for a 3.72 ERA.[21] He elected free agency on November 7, 2021.

Staten Island FerryHawks

After sitting out the 2022 season, Pazos signed with the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball on April 22, 2023.[24] Pazos made 17 appearances for the FerryHawks, but struggled immensely to an 11.48 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 13+1⁄3 innings pitched. He was released by Staten Island on June 20.[25]

References
  1. "Baseball Player Name Pronunciation Guide". Baseball-Reference.com.
  2. "James Pazos – Baseball – University of San Diego Athletics". Usdtoreros.com. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  3. Year. "James Pazos Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  4. "Chandler-Gilbert Community College honors alumnus for Major League Baseball debut | Chandler". eastvalleytribune.com. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  5. "James Pazos Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com.
  6. "Another Mariners Hard Throwing Lefty: James Pazos". March 25, 2017.
  7. "James Pazos". The Baseball Cube. June 18, 2012. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  8. "Sewald and Pazos Taken in Second Day of MLB Draft". usdtoreros.com. Archived from the original on July 26, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  9. "James Pazos Stats & Scouting Report". Baseball America. May 5, 1991. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  10. "James Pazos Stats, Highlights, Bio | MiLB.com Stats | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". Milb.com. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  11. "Yankees name the four pitchers going to the Arizona Fall League". yesnetwork.com. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  12. "Healthy Pazos back on Yankees' radar". trentonian.com. May 29, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  13. "Yankees' September call-ups include Rob Refsnyder, Andrew Bailey". NJ.com. September 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  14. "James Pazos Stats". Baseball-Reference.com.
  15. "James Pazos Stats, Highlights, Bio – MiLB.com Stats – The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  16. "Mariners make two trades for three players, add three minor leaguers to the 40-man roster and move on from three others". The Seattle Times. November 18, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  17. "James Pazos Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  18. "Statcast Pitch Arsenals Leaderboard". baseballsavant.com.
  19. Axisa, Mike (November 2, 2018). "Phillies acquire Jean Segura from Mariners as Seattle continues fire sale". CBSSports.com. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  20. Housenick, Tom (April 9, 2019). "Flexible, experienced bullpen a strength early on for IronPigs". mcall.com.
  21. "James Pazos Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  22. "Rockies Designate James Pazos For Assignment". MLB Trade Rumors.
  23. "Dodgers Agree To Minor League Deals With Morrow, Nelson, Stewart, Pazos". MLB Trade Rumors.
  24. "Atlantic League Professional Baseball: Transactions".
  25. https://www.atlanticleague.com/stats/transactions/
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