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: 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 runs | 1 |
| Runs batted in | 9 |
| Teams | |
Career edit
Texas Rangers edit
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 edit
On December 13, 2022, Pozo signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the Oakland Athletics.[15] He re-signed a minor league contract on November 11, 2023.
Legal troubles edit
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 edit
Pozo's father, also named Yohel, played five seasons of minor league baseball in the Colorado Rockies organization.[20][1]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Badler, Ben (March 12, 2014). "2013-14 International Reviews: Texas Rangers". Baseball America. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
- ^ a b c d e f "Yohel Pozo Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Longenhagen, Eric (December 10, 2020). "The 2020 Rule 5 Draft Scouting Reports". FanGraphs.com. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
- ^ Mayo, Jonathan (December 10, 2020). "2020 Rule 5 Draft results, pick by pick". MLB.com. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Rangers activate RHP Dane Dunning from 10-day injured list, select contract of C Yohel Pozo from Round Rock". MLB.com.
- ^ "Yohel Pozo Hits Key HR in Big-League Debut, Rangers Beat A's 8-6". NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
- ^ Landry, Kennedi (August 13, 2021). "Pozo after HR in debut: 'Never want to forget'". MLB.com. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
- ^ "Yohel Pozo se estrenó con cuadrangular en las Grandes Ligas". El Carabobeño (in Spanish). 2021-08-14. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
- ^ Levi Weaver (October 6, 2021). "Grading the 2021 Texas Rangers: Position players edition". The Athletic. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
- ^ Adams, Steve (November 30, 2021). "American League Non-Tenders: 11/30/21". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
- ^ Morris, Adam J. (2021-12-01). "Gray signing official, Garcia, Pozo re-signed". Lone Star Ball (SB Nation). Retrieved 2021-12-02.
- ^ RotoWire, Staff (December 13, 2022). "Athletics' Yohel Pozo: Invited to camp by A's". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
- ^ Sanchez, Mark W. (2016-11-21). "MLB prospects post video of 'sexual assault' of underage teammate". New York Post. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
- ^ Heck, Jordan (November 21, 2016). "Video shows details of alleged sexual hazing by Rangers prospects". The Sporting News. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
- ^ Lee, Greg (June 27, 2017). "Spokane Indians' Yohel Pozo under investigation by Major League Baseball". The Spokesman Review. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
- ^ Fraley, Gerry (2017-03-18). "Rangers suspended minor-leaguers receive clearance to resume workouts". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
- ^ "Yohel Pozo Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
External links edit
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)