Pedro Báez

Career

Báez signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a non-drafted free agent on January 22, 2007 and began his career as a third baseman that season with the Gulf Coast Dodgers. In 53 games, he hit .274. His 39 RBI ranked second in the Gulf Coast League and he was rated as having the best infield arm in the Dodgers organization. He split the 2008 season between the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer Baseball League and the Great Lakes Loons of the Midwest League, hitting .229 in 120 games with 13 home runs and 66 RBI. He played in 79 games in 2009 for the Inland Empire 66ers of the California League, hitting .286 with 10 homers and 61 RBI. He was again cited by Baseball America as having the best infield arm in the Dodgers system and represented the World team in the 2009 All-Star Futures Game.

In 2010 Báez spent most of the season with the 66ers, but finished the year with the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Class AA Southern League. He played in 84 games, hitting .263 with six homers and 45 RBI. He was selected to the World team at the All-Star Futures Game for a second straight season. Báez appeared in 32 games early in 2011 with the Lookouts, hitting only .210 before spending most of the season on the disabled list. In 2012 with the Lookouts, he was selected to the mid-season Southern League all-star team. Between the Lookouts and the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, he played in 128 games and hit .221 with 11 homers and 59 RBI. He was rated by Baseball America as being the Dodgers best minor league defensive infielder and having the best infield arm.

After the 2012 season, the Dodgers decided that they would attempt to convert Báez from third base and make him a pitcher. He was assigned, as a pitcher, to the Quakes to start the 2013 season but was promoted to Chattanooga at mid-season. Between the two levels, he appeared in 48 games out of the bullpen and was 3-3 with a 3.88 ERA. He then pitched for the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League after the season.

The Dodgers added Báez to the 40-man roster on November 20, 2013. He began the season with the Lookouts and was called up to the Majors for the first time on May 5, 2014. He made his MLB debut later that night against the Washington Nationals. He allowed a single and a two run homer to his first two batters before retiring the next three players in his one inning of work. He returned to the minors following the game. After another one game appearance for the Dodgers in July, he joined the bullpen in August and remained there the rest of the season. In 20 appearances, he had an ERA of 2.63, struck out 18 and walked 5. In 2015, he pitched in 52 games with a 3.35 ERA. In the minors, with Chattanooga and the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes, he pitched in 40 games with a 3.86 ERA and 12 saves. He made the roster for the 2014 National League Division Series (NLDS) against the St. Louis Cardinals, and allowed two runs in 2  ¹⁄₃ innings. The runs he allowed were on a two-run homer by Matt Holliday in game one.

In 2015, he made the Dodgers opening day roster and was 4–2 with a 3.35 ERA in 51 innings over 52 games with 60 strikeouts against only 11 walks. His first major league win came when he threw 1  ¹⁄₃ scoreless innings of relief against the Colorado Rockies on May 10. In game three of the 2015 NLDS, all three of the batters he faced reached base, two by walk, and he was charged with three runs without getting an out.

In 2016 Báez was 3–2 with a 3.04 ERA and 83 strikeouts over 74 innings in 73 games. He also allowed 11 home runs and walked 22 batters. He pitched 3  ²⁄₃ innings scorenless innings over four games against the Nationals in the 2016 NLDS but allowed six runs in 3  ¹⁄₃ innings in three games of the 2016 National League Championship Series against the Chicago Cubs.