American baseball player (born 1995)
Baseball player
Mark Anthony Contreras (born January 24, 1995) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. 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] He became a free agent after the season.[ 17]
References
^ "Former Highlander Mark Contreras Gets the Call with Twins" . GoHighlanders.com . May 11, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022 .
^ "Fernandez, Contreras, Sodders, Farris, Fagalde Earn All-Conference Nods" . GoHighlanders.com . May 1, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2022 .
^ "Twins select an outfielder and reliever to end Day 2 of the draft" . Star Tribune . June 13, 2017. Retrieved May 16, 2022 .
^ "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 .
^ Vilona, Bill (October 14, 2019). "Blue Wahoos' Contreras Realizes Dream As Gold Glove Winner" . MiLB.com . Retrieved May 10, 2022 .
^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled" . mlb.com . Retrieved May 14, 2023 .
^ "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 .
^ "Twins place Carlos Correa, Chris Paddack on 10-day injured list" . Star Tribune . May 10, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2022 .
^ "Altuve, Tucker HR, Astros swamp Twins to complete suspension" . ESPN.com . Associated Press . May 11, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022 .
^ "Twins' Mark Contreras: Hits first big-league homer" . cbssports.com . Retrieved May 26, 2023 .
^ "Twins' Mark Contreras: Designated for assignment" . CBS Sports . RotoWire . December 20, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2023 .
^ https://kstp.com/minnesota-sports/twins-announce-gallo-addition-dfa-contreras/
^ "Twins' Mark Contreras: Outrighted to Triple-A" . cbssports.com . Retrieved October 16, 2023 .
^ "Mark Contreras: Released by Minnesota" . cbssports.com . Retrieved August 4, 2023 .
^ Polishuk, Mark (November 11, 2023). "Red Sox Sign Mark Contreras To Minor League Deal" . mlbtraderumors.com .
^ Dudek, Greg (December 11, 2023). "Red Sox Unveil List Of Non-Roster Invitees For Spring Training" . NESN . Retrieved December 11, 2023 .
^ Eddy, Matt (November 6, 2024). "Minor League Free Agents 2024" . Baseball America . Retrieved November 6, 2024 .
External links