Yohel Pozo

Yohel Enrique Pozo (born June 14, 1997) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher and designated hitter in the Oakland Athletics organization. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2021 for the Texas Rangers.

Yohel Pozo
Pozo with the Round Rock Express in 2022
Oakland Athletics
Catcher / Designated hitter
Born: (1997-06-14) June 14, 1997
Maracaibo, Venezuela
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 13, 2021, for the Texas Rangers
MLB statistics
(through 2021 season)
Batting average.284
Home runs1
Runs batted in9
Teams

Career

Texas Rangers

Pozo played for Venezuela in the 2009 Little League World Series.[1] Pozo signed as an international free agent with the Texas Rangers on August 17, 2013, for a $100,000 signing bonus.[2] Pozo spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons with the DSL Rangers of the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League; hitting .273/.329/.333/.662 with 29 RBI in 2014, and .272/.335/.354/.689 with 1 home run and 24 RBI in 2015.[3] He spent the 2016 season with the AZL Rangers of the Rookie-level Arizona League, hitting .343/.382/.448/.829 with 1 home run and 22 RBI.[3] Pozo split the 2017 season between the Spokane Indians of the Class A Short Season Northwest League and the Hickory Crawdads of the Class A South Atlantic League, hitting a combined .323/.351/.478/.828 with 4 home runs and 25 RBI.[3] Pozo spent the 2018 season back with Hickory, hitting .264/.312/.411/.723 with 10 home runs and 49 RBI.[3] His 2019 season was spent with the Down East Wood Ducks of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League, where he hit .246/.274/.357/.631 with 9 home runs and 43 RBI.[3] Pozo did not play in 2020, with the cancelation of the minor league season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pozo became a free agent following the 2020 season, and signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres.[4] Pozo returned to Texas, when on December 10, 2020, he was selected by the Rangers in the minor league phase of the 2020 Rule 5 draft.[5][6]

Pozo spent the 2021 minor league season with the Round Rock Express of the Triple-A West, hitting .337/.352/.622/.974 with 23 home runs and 74 RBI over 77 games.[3][7] On August 13, 2021, Texas selected his contract and promoted him to the active roster.[8] That night versus the Oakland Athletics, he made his major league debut.[9] That night, recorded his first career hit off Cole Irvin, and his first MLB home run off Sergio Romo.[10][11] Over 21 game for Texas in 2021, Pozo hit .284/.312/.378/.690 with 1 home run and 9 RBI.[12]

On November 30, 2021, Pozo was non-tendered by the Rangers, making him a free agent.[13] He re-signed with Texas on a minor league contract the next day.[14] Appearing in just 65 games for Round Rock in 2022, Pozo hit .320/.352/.474/.826 with 6 home runs and 38 RBI. He elected free agency on November 10, 2022.

Oakland Athletics

On December 13, 2022, Pozo signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the Oakland Athletics.[15]

Pozo and upwards of seven other Rangers prospects were investigated by Dominican Republic police, in regards to a 2016 incident where video was uploaded to Snapchat, purporting to show the sexual assault of a Rangers minor league player.[16][17] Pozo was suspended while the investigation was pending, but was not charged with any crimes.[18][19]

Personal life

Pozo's father, also named Yohel, played five seasons of minor league baseball in the Colorado Rockies organization.[20][1]

See also

References
  1. Parker, Mark (June 16, 2018). "Like Father, Like Son: With dad as a guide, Crawdads' Pozo pursues their major league dreams". Hickory Daily Record. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  2. Badler, Ben (March 12, 2014). "2013-14 International Reviews: Texas Rangers". Baseball America. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  3. "Yohel Pozo Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  4. Sanders, Jeff (2020-11-18). "Minor league moves tracker: Padres sign Katoh, former RB High star; Gettys signs with Red Sox". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  5. Longenhagen, Eric (December 10, 2020). "The 2020 Rule 5 Draft Scouting Reports". FanGraphs.com. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  6. Mayo, Jonathan (December 10, 2020). "2020 Rule 5 Draft results, pick by pick". MLB.com. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  7. Rosner, Mark (July 14, 2021). "Round Rock Express: Yohel Pozo has stayed hot while team's other bats have cooled". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  8. "Rangers activate RHP Dane Dunning from 10-day injured list, select contract of C Yohel Pozo from Round Rock". MLB.com.
  9. "Yohel Pozo Hits Key HR in Big-League Debut, Rangers Beat A's 8-6". NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
  10. Landry, Kennedi (August 13, 2021). "Pozo after HR in debut: 'Never want to forget'". MLB.com. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
  11. "Yohel Pozo se estrenó con cuadrangular en las Grandes Ligas". El Carabobeño (in Spanish). 2021-08-14. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
  12. Levi Weaver (October 6, 2021). "Grading the 2021 Texas Rangers: Position players edition". The Athletic. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  13. Adams, Steve (November 30, 2021). "American League Non-Tenders: 11/30/21". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  14. Morris, Adam J. (2021-12-01). "Gray signing official, Garcia, Pozo re-signed". Lone Star Ball (SB Nation). Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  15. RotoWire, Staff (December 13, 2022). "Athletics' Yohel Pozo: Invited to camp by A's". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  16. Sanchez, Mark W. (2016-11-21). "MLB prospects post video of 'sexual assault' of underage teammate". New York Post. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  17. Heck, Jordan (November 21, 2016). "Video shows details of alleged sexual hazing by Rangers prospects". The Sporting News. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  18. Lee, Greg (June 27, 2017). "Spokane Indians' Yohel Pozo under investigation by Major League Baseball". The Spokesman Review. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  19. Fraley, Gerry (2017-03-18). "Rangers suspended minor-leaguers receive clearance to resume workouts". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  20. "Yohel Pozo Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
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