Domingo Rafael Tapia (born August 4, 1991) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher in the Oakland Athletics organization. Listed at 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) and 263 pounds (119 kg), he throws and bats right-handed. He has previously played in MLB for the Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners.
On May 28, 2010, Tapia signed with the New York Mets organization as an international free agent. Tapia began his professional baseball career in 2010, pitching in the Dominican Summer League and the Gulf Coast League.[1] He split the 2011 season between the rookie ball Kingsport Mets and the Low-A Brooklyn Cyclones, recording a 6-5 record and 3.38 ERA in 12 games. In 2012, Tapia spent the year in Single-A with the Savannah Sand Gnats, posting a 6-5 record and 3.98 ERA in 20 appearances. In 2013, he spent the season with the High-A St. Lucie Mets, pitching to a 3-9 record and 4.62 ERA in 101.1 innings of work. He played in 21 games for St. Lucie the following year, posting a 6-8 record and 3.96 ERA.[1] Tapia began the 2015 season with the Double-A Binghamton Mets, but after giving up five hits, eight walks, two HBP, and nine runs in 1.2 innings, he underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2015.[2][3] He appeared in 19 games with St. Lucie in 2016, also making 1 appearances for Binghamton, registering a 0-2 record and 3.56 ERA with 25 strikeouts. On November 7, 2016, he elected free agency.
On November 28, 2016, Tapia signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds organization.[4] In 2017, he split the season between the Triple-A Louisville Bats and the Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos, posting a 4-7 record and 4.08 ERA with 85 strikeouts between the two clubs. In 2018, Tapia again split the year between Louisville and Pensacola, recording a 4-5 record and 3.60 ERA in 48 appearances.[1] On November 2, 2018, he elected free agency.
On November 16, 2018, Tapia signed a minor league deal with the Boston Red Sox organization.[2][5] In 2019, he played for the Pawtucket Red Sox, Boston's Triple-A affiliate, posting a 5–4 win–loss record in 44 games (1 start) with two saves, a 5.18 earned run average (ERA), and 52 strikeouts in 66 innings pitched.[1] Through 2019, including with Pawtucket, Tapia appeared in 242 games in 10 seasons of Minor League Baseball, accruing a 38–50 record with 4.14 ERA and four saves.[1] He also played four seasons in the Dominican Winter League, with Gigantes del Cibao.[1]
During the delayed-start 2020 major league season, Tapia was added to Boston's player pool at the end of June.[6] On September 11, he was added to Boston's major league active roster.[7] He made his MLB debut that day, against the Tampa Bay Rays; the first batter he faced, Nate Lowe, hit a home run.[8] Tapia was placed on the injured list before Boston's final series of the season, due to a right biceps contusion.[7] Overall with the 2020 Red Sox, Tapia appeared in five games, all in relief, recording a 2.08 ERA and four strikeouts in 4+1⁄3 innings pitched.[9]
On October 23, 2020, Tapia was claimed off waivers by the Seattle Mariners.[10] Tapia threw two scoreless innings with Seattle before being designated for assignment on May 17, 2021.[11]
On May 22, 2021, Tapia was traded to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for cash considerations.[12]
On April 30, 2022, Tapia was claimed off waivers by the Oakland Athletics.[13] The Athletics promoted Tapia to the major leagues on May 29.[14] On September 11, Tapia was designated for assignment and was sent outright to Triple-A.