Leonardo Andres Rivas (born October 10, 1997) is a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2024.
| Leo Rivas | |
|---|---|
| Seattle Mariners – No. 76 | |
| Infielder | |
| Born: October 10, 1997 Maracay, Venezuela | |
Bats: Switch Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 28, 2024, for the Seattle Mariners | |
| MLB statistics (through 2024 season) | |
| Batting average | .233 |
| Home runs | 0 |
| Runs batted in | 8 |
| Teams | |
| |
Career
editLos Angeles Angels
editOn July 11, 2014, Rivas signed with the Los Angeles Angels as an international free agent. He made his professional debut in 2015 with the Dominican Summer League Angels, hitting .258 in 65 games. Rivas returned to the DSL Angels to start 2016 season, then advanced to the rookie–level Arizona League Angels on July 20, accumulating a .290/.413/.379 batting line with one home run, 19 RBI, and 26 stolen bases across 59 games for both teams.[1][2]
Rivas split the 2017 season between the rookie–level Orem Owlz and Single-A Burlington Bees. He was named a Pioneer League All-Star for Orem.[3] In 61 games between the two affiliates, he hit .286/.443/.397 with two home runs, 36 RBI, and 19 stolen bases.[4] Rivas spent 2018 with Burlington, also playing in two games for the AZL Angels in July. In a career-high 119 games for Burlington, he batted .234/.335/.326 with four home runs, 34 RBI, and 16 stolen bases. His 140 strikeouts also were a career high.[2]
Rivas spent the 2019 campaign primarily with the High-A Inland Empire 66ers, while also playing 7 games for the AZL Angels, slashing .227/.332/.361 with six home runs and 26 RBI across 80 games.[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]
Cincinnati Reds
editOn December 10, 2020, Rivas was traded to the Cincinnati Reds as the player to be named later in a previous deal that sent reliever Raisel Iglesias to the Angels and Noé Ramirez to Cincinnati.[7]
Rivas spent the 2021 season with the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts, playing in 60 games and batting .274/.382/.337 with 21 RBI and nine stolen bases.[8] Rivas returned to Chattanooga for most of the 2022 season before moving up to the Triple-A Louisville Bats in mid-August. In 95 games between the two affiliates, he hit .228/.318/.344 with a career-best seven home runs as well as 35 RBI and 18 stolen bases.[9] Rivas elected free agency following the season on November 10.[10]
Seattle Mariners
editOn January 30, 2023, Rivas signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners.[11] He spent the year with the Double-A Arkansas Travelers, batting .255/.411/.347 with five home runs and career highs of 47 RBI and 50 stolen bases in 106 games.[12]
Rivas began 2024 with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers. On April 25, Rivas was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[13] He replaced injured shortstop J.P. Crawford on the roster.[14] He made his MLB debut on April 28 against the Arizona Diamondbacks and recorded his first career hit, a triple.[15][16] He was optioned back to Tacoma on May 20, when Crawford came off the injured list.[17]
Rivas shuttled between the majors and minors, landing on the Mariners' roster from June 10 to June 13 as Dylan Moore took paternity leave, then again from July 23 through the end of the 2024 season.[18][3] On August 23, Rivas notched his first career walk-off hit, singling in the 10th inning to beat the San Francisco Giants.[19][20] Rivas pitched one inning during two Mariners blowout losses, to the Detroit Tigers on August 13 and the New York Yankees September 17, allowing one run and two hits across his two pitching appearances.[21] He finished his first season batting .233/.333/.274, with three stolen bases in three attempts.[3]
References
edit- ^ Kimura, Chase. "Top prospect countdown: #29 Leonardo Rivas". halosheaven.com. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
- ^ a b "Leo Rivas Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Leo Rivas Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
- ^ Gray, Doug. "Taking a look at new Reds prospect Leonardo Rivas". redsminorleagues.com. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
- ^ "Leo Rivas - Baseball Stats". thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
- ^ Adler, David (June 30, 2020). "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
- ^ Gray, Doug. "Reds acquire Leonardo Rivas to complete trade with Angels". redsminorleagues.com. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
- ^ "Leo Rivas - Stats - Batting". fangraphs.com. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
- ^ "Leo Rivas - 2022 Batting Game Logs". FanGraphs Baseball. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
- ^ "2022-23 Minor League Free Agents For All 30 MLB Teams". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
- ^ "Mariners' Leonardo Rivas: Signs NRI deal with Seattle". CBS Sports. RotoWire. January 31, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
- ^ Pedro, Trevor. "Mariners' prospect spotlight: Leo Rivas". sodomojo.com. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
- ^ "Mariners select INF Leo Rivas from Triple-A Tacoma". marinersblog.mlblogs.com. Seattle Mariners. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
- ^ Adams, Steve (April 25, 2024). "Mariners Select Leo Rivas, Place J.P. Crawford On Injured List". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
- ^ Jude, Adam (April 28, 2024). "Leo Rivas, 999th player to appear for Mariners, triples in first at-bat". Seattle Times. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
- ^ Seattle Mariners (April 29, 2024). Leo Rivas first MLB hit is a triple! (Television production). MLB.com. Retrieved October 18, 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ Franco, Anthony (May 20, 2024). "Mariners Notes: Crawford, Raley, Emerson". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
- ^ "Seattle Mariners Transactions". MLB.com. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
- ^ "Leo Rivas' walk-off single". MLB.com. August 23, 2024. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
- ^ Booth, Tim. "Mariners rally, stun Giants 6-5 in extras in Dan Wilson's managerial debut". sports.mynorthwest.com. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
- ^ "Leo Rivas 2024 Pitching Game Logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 25, 2024.
External links
edit- Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Leo Rivas on Instagram