Maikel Cleto

Maikel Jose Cleto (born May 1, 1989) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox.

Maikel Cleto
Cleto with the Omaha Storm Chasers in 2013
Free agent
Pitcher
Born: (1989-05-01) May 1, 1989
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 2, 2011, for the St. Louis Cardinals
MLB statistics
(through 2014 season)
Win–loss record0–1
Earned run average6.60
Strikeouts58
Teams

Professional career

New York Mets

Cleto began his professional career in 2007 with the GCL Mets. He went 1–2 with a 5.03 ERA, one save and 28 strikeouts.

In 2008 Cleto split the season between the Class-A Savannah Sand Gnats and the Class-A Advanced St. Lucie Mets. He had a combined record of 5–12 with a 4.41 ERA, one shutout and 82 strikeouts in 26 games, 23 starts between the two clubs.

Seattle Mariners

On December 11, 2008, Cleto was traded to the Mariners with Aaron Heilman, Endy Chávez, Jason Vargas, Mike Carp and Ezequiel Carrera in exchange for J. J. Putz, Jeremy Reed and Sean Green.[1]

Cleto split the 2009 season between the Rookie-Level Peoria Mariners and the Class-A Clinton LumberKings. He went 0–4 with a 5.54 ERA and 25 strikeouts in nine games, eight starts. He attended spring training with the Mariners but was assigned to the Minor Leagues early in camp.[2] Cleto was placed on the disabled list of July 7 due to back discomfort and made his return on August 15.[3]

St. Louis Cardinals

On December 12, 2010, it was announced Cleto was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for shortstop Brendan Ryan.[4]

Cleto was activated on June 2, 2011 (the same day Lance Lynn was also called up), directly from AA (Springfield Cardinals) to shore up an overworked bullpen.[5]

Kansas City Royals

Cleto was claimed off waivers to the Kansas City Royals on June 23, 2013.[6] On February 17, 2014, he was designated for assignment by the Royals.[7]

Chicago White Sox

Cleto was claimed off waivers by the Chicago White Sox on February 26, 2014. To make room on the roster the Sox designated infielder Jake Elmore for assignment.[8] Cleto was designated for assignment on May 10 to make room for Frank Francisco on the White Sox roster.[9] He was called back up on August 4, 2014. On February 2, 2016, the Chicago White Sox resigned Cleto to a minor league contract.[10] He was released on March 31, 2016.

Vaqueros Laguna

On May 30, 2016, Cleto signed with the Vaqueros Laguna of the Mexican Baseball League. They released him on July 1, 2016.

Atlanta Braves

On July 3, 2016, Cleto signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves organization. He was assigned to the Triple-A Gwinnett Braves, where he made 20 appearances and registered a 2.14 ERA with 31 strikeouts and 4 saves in 21.0 innings pitched. He elected free agency following the season on November 7.[11]

Chicago Cubs

On December 13, 2016, Cleto signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs.[12] He was released on March 13, 2017.[13]

Mexican League (2017–2021)

On May 4, 2017, Cleto signed with the Vaqueros Unión Laguna of the Mexican Baseball League. On June 20, 2017, he was traded to the Leones de Yucatán. On March 19, 2018, Cleto was traded back to the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna prior to the beginning of the 2018 season. On July 17, 2018, Cleto was traded back to the Leones de Yucatán. On June 1, 2019, Cleto was loaned to the Toros de Tijuana. On July 2, 2019, he was loaned to the Rieleros de Aguascalientes. On February 27, 2020, Cleto signed with the Piratas de Campeche. Cleto did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the LMB season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[14] On April 7, 2021, Cleto signed with the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna. On October 20, 2021, Cleto was traded back to the Toros de Tijuana. He was released prior to the 2022 season on March 1, 2022.[15]

Pitching style

Cleto is a hard-thrower, wielding a four-seam fastball at 96–99 mph. The fastball is by far his most used pitch, but he also throws three off-speed pitches: a changeup (89–91) to lefties, a slider (84–86) to righties, and a curveball (79–82) to hitters from both sides of the plate.[16]

References
  1. John Hickey (December 11, 2008). "Mariners send Putz, Reed, Green packing". Seattle PI. seattlepi.com. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
  2. Jim Street (March 21, 2009). "Mariners send down lefty Vargas". Major League Baseball. mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
  3. "L'Kings limited to 3 hits in Cleto's return". Clinton Herald. clintonherald.com. August 15, 2009. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
  4. "Mariners Acquire Brendan Ryan". 12 December 2010.
  5. Flame-thrower Cleto promoted with Lynn, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (June 2, 2011)
  6. "DH rule brings opportunity to Matheny, Cards". MLB.com. June 23, 2013.
  7. "Royals claim outfielder Jimmy Paredes off waivers from Baltimore". MLB.com. February 17, 2014. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  8. "White Sox claim RHP Cleto off waivers from Royals". ESPN.com. Associated Press. February 26, 2014. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  9. "White Sox bring up Frank Francisco". The Province. May 10, 2014. Archived from the original on June 16, 2014. Retrieved May 11, 2014.
  10. "Major League Baseball Transactions". Major League Baseball. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  11. "Minor League Free Agents 2016". baseballamerica.com. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
  12. Crumpton, Tony (December 14, 2016). "Cubs sign four pitches to minor league contracts". cubshq.com. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  13. "Minor MLB Transactions: 3/13/2017". 13 March 2017.
  14. "Mexican League Cancels 2020 Season". July 2020.
  15. Maikel Cleto Stats, Highlights, Bio | MiLB.com Stats | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball
  16. "Brooks Baseball · Home of the PitchFX Tool - Player Card: Maikel Cleto". Brooks Baseball. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
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