Mark Contreras

American baseball player (born 1995)
Baseball player
Mark Contreras
Contreras with the Minnesota Twins
Boston Red Sox
Outfielder
Born: (1995-01-24) January 24, 1995 (age 29)
Moreno Valley, California, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 12, 2022, for the Minnesota Twins
MLB statistics
(through 2022 season)
Batting average.121
Home runs3
Runs batted in6
Teams
  • Minnesota Twins (2022)

Mark Anthony Contreras (born January 24, 1995) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Boston Red Sox organization. Contreras played college baseball at the University of California, Riverside. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins.

Early life and amateur career

Contreras grew up in Moreno Valley, California and attended Canyon Springs High School. He was a member of the varsity baseball team and won four consecutive Inland Valley League championships with the team.[1]

Contreras attended the University of California, Riverside, and played college baseball for the UC Riverside Highlanders for four seasons. He was named second team All-Big West Conference after batting .332 with 14 doubles.[2] As a senior Contreras led the team with a .366 batting average and a .427 on base percentage and was named first team All-Big West.[3]

Professional career

Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins selected Contreras in the ninth round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft.[4] He was assigned to the Fort Myers Miracle at the beginning of the 2019 season and was promoted to the Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos and was named a minor league Gold Glove award winner at the end of the year.[5] He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] Contreras began the 2021 season with the Double-A Wichita Wind Surge, where he played 19 games before being promoted to the Triple-A St. Paul Saints.[7]

The Twins promoted Contreras to their major league roster on May 10, 2022.[8] He made his major league debut on May 11, entering the game as a defensive replacement for Byron Buxton after play resumed following a rain delay.[9] On August 2, Contreras hit his first career home run, a solo shot off of Detroit Tigers pitcher Matt Manning.[10] Contreras played in 28 games for the Twins in 2022 and slashed .121/.148/.293 with three home runs and six RBIs.[11]

On December 20, 2022, the Twins designated Contreras for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Joey Gallo.[12] He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple–A St. Paul on January 3.[13] In 90 games for St. Paul, he batted .274/.352/.418 with 10 home runs, 54 RBI, and 23 stolen bases. On August 3, 2023, Contreras was released by the Twins organization.[14]

Boston Red Sox

On November 11, 2023, Contreras signed a minor-league contract with the Boston Red Sox.[15] He was named a non-roster invitee to the team's spring training.[16]

References

  1. ^ "Former Highlander Mark Contreras Gets the Call with Twins". GoHighlanders.com. May 11, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  2. ^ "Fernandez, Contreras, Sodders, Farris, Fagalde Earn All-Conference Nods". GoHighlanders.com. May 1, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  3. ^ "Twins select an outfielder and reliever to end Day 2 of the draft". Star Tribune. June 13, 2017. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  4. ^ "UC Riverside's Ryan Lillie, Mark Contreras, picked on Day 2 of the MLB Draft". The Press-Enterprise. June 13, 2017. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  5. ^ Vilona, Bill (October 14, 2019). "Blue Wahoos' Contreras Realizes Dream As Gold Glove Winner". MiLB.com. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  6. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved 2023-05-14.
  7. ^ "Saints' Mark Contreras continues making case for majors in 6-3 win over Iowa". St. Paul Pioneer Press. May 5, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  8. ^ "Twins place Carlos Correa, Chris Paddack on 10-day injured list". Star Tribune. May 10, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  9. ^ "Altuve, Tucker HR, Astros swamp Twins to complete suspension". ESPN.com. Associated Press. May 11, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  10. ^ "Twins' Mark Contreras: Hits first big-league homer". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  11. ^ "Twins' Mark Contreras: Designated for assignment". CBS Sports. RotoWire. December 20, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  12. ^ https://kstp.com/minnesota-sports/twins-announce-gallo-addition-dfa-contreras/
  13. ^ "Twins' Mark Contreras: Outrighted to Triple-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  14. ^ "Mark Contreras: Released by Minnesota". cbssports.com. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  15. ^ Polishuk, Mark (November 11, 2023). "Red Sox Sign Mark Contreras To Minor League Deal". mlbtraderumors.com.
  16. ^ Dudek, Greg (December 11, 2023). "Red Sox Unveil List Of Non-Roster Invitees For Spring Training". NESN. Retrieved December 11, 2023.

External links

  • Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
  • UC Riverside Highlanders bio