Yoan López Leyva (born January 2, 1993) is a Cuban professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Yoan López
López with the Mets in 2022
New York Mets – No. 44
Pitcher
Born: (1993-01-02) January 2, 1993 (age 29) Nueva Gerona, Cuba
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 9, 2018, for the Arizona Diamondbacks
MLB statistics (through 2022 season)
Win–loss record	3–8
Earned run average	4.39
Strikeouts	92
Teams
Arizona Diamondbacks (2018–2021) New York Mets (2022–present)

Career

Arizona Diamondbacks

López played three seasons for the Isla de la Juventud in the Cuban National Series.[1] He defected from Cuba in 2014 to pursue a career in Major League Baseball (MLB). In his final season in Cuba, he had a 3.12 earned run average (ERA) with 28 strikeouts in 49 innings pitched.[2] He received interest from numerous teams, including the New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres[3][4] before signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks.[5] In 2015, he played for both the Arizona League Diamondbacks of the Rookie-level Arizona League and the Mobile BayBears of the Class AA Southern League, pitching to a combined 2-6 record and 4.17 ERA in 54 innings between both teams.

In 2016, López pitched for Mobile. He struggled, posting a 5.52 ERA in 62 innings, and left the team with the intention to retire.[6] However, he returned to the organization in September 2016 to pitch for the Diamondbacks' Arizona League affiliate. He spent 2017 with the Visalia Rawhide of the Class A-Advanced California League and posted a 2-0 record with a 0.88 ERA along with 56 strikeouts in 30+2⁄3 innings.[7] In 2018, he pitched for the Jackson Generals of the Southern League.

The Diamondbacks promoted him to the major leagues on September 3.[8] López faced the Atlanta Braves six days later in his major league debut, giving up 2 home runs and a triple in his first 8 pitches.[9] In 2019, he pitched out of the bullpen for Arizona, appearing in 70 games. In 2020, López pitched to a 5.95 ERA with 16 strikeouts and 9 walks in 19.2 innings of work.[10] After recording a 6.57 ERA in 13 appearances, López was designated for assignment on May 20, 2021.[11]

Atlanta Braves

On May 22, 2021, López was traded to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Deivi Estrada and was assigned to the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers.[12] In 32 appearances for Triple-A Gwinnett, López went 3-2 with a 3.03 ERA and 35 strikeouts. On November 22, López was designated for assignment by the Braves.[13]

New York Mets

On November 29, 2021, Lopez was claimed off of waivers by the Philadelphia Phillies.[14] On March 18, 2022, he was claimed again, this time by the Miami Marlins.[15] On March 27, 2022, Lopez was designated for assignment.[16] On March 29, 2022, López was claimed off of waivers for a third time, by the New York Mets.[17]

See also

• List of baseball players who defected from Cuba

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
• Mr.Ninety PlusTax on Instagram