Fernando E. Cruz (born March 28, 1990) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB).
| Fernando Cruz | |
|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds – No. 63 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1990-03-28) March 28, 1990 (age 32) Bayamón, Puerto Rico | |
Bats: Switch Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 2, 2022, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| MLB statistics (through 2022 season) | |
| Win–loss record | 0–1 |
| Earned run average | 1.23 |
| Strikeouts | 21 |
| Teams | |
| |
The Kansas City Royals selected Cruz in the sixth round of the 2007 MLB draft as an infielder.[1][2] He became a pitcher in 2011, but was released in 2012. He joined the Chicago Cubs organization in 2015, pitched in independent baseball leagues from 2016 to 2018, and in the Mexican League in 2018 and 2021.
The Cincinnati Reds signed Cruz as a free agent in January 2022 and assigned him to the Louisville Bats.[1] In 2022 in the minor leagues, he was 4-4 with a 2.89 ERA in 56 innings, and second in the minor leagues with 23 saves.[3]
The Reds promoted Cruz to the major leagues on September 1, 2022,[1][4] and he made his MLB debut the following day, aged 32.[5]