Henry Urrutia

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Urrutia and the second or maternal family name is Rodríguez.
Henry Urrutia
Urrutia with the Baltimore Orioles
Bravos de León – No. 51
Designated hitter / Left fielder
Born: (1987-02-13) February 13, 1987 (age 37)
Las Tunas, Cuba
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
July 20, 2013, for the Baltimore Orioles
MLB statistics
(through 2015 season)
Batting average.272
Home runs1
Runs batted in8
Teams

Henry Alexander Urrutia Rodríguez (/ʊəˈruːtiə/ oo-ROO-tee-ə; born February 13, 1987) is a Cuban professional baseball designated hitter and left fielder for the Bravos de León of the Mexican League. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles.

Professional career

Urrutia played in the Cuban National Series for Las Tunas. He debuted in the 2005-06 Cuban National Series, and played through 2009-10.[1]

Urrutia attempted to defect from Cuba in 2010. After the failed attempt, he was suspended. He successfully defected to Haiti in September 2011.[2]

Baltimore Orioles

On July 24, 2012, Urrutia signed with the Baltimore Orioles, receiving a $778,500 signing bonus.[3]

After having trouble acquiring a visa,[4] Urrutia reported to the Bowie Baysox of the Double-A Eastern League in April 2013.[5] After playing 52 games for Bowie, the Orioles promoted him to the Norfolk Tides of the Triple-A International League on June 28.[6] After playing in 15 games for Norfolk, the Orioles promoted Urrutia to the major leagues on July 19.[7] Urrutia was optioned back on Norfolk on August 17. He was recalled on September 3. He was placed on the restricted list on September 13 when the Orioles travelled to Toronto due to visa issues,[8] and re-activated on September 16. In 2013 for the Orioles, Urrutia batted .276/.276/.310 in 24 games.

Urrutia did not appear in the majors in 2014, instead spending the season in the minor leagues with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. On August 19, 2015, Urrutia hit his first career home run off of New York Mets pitcher Carlos Torres. It was also his first career walk-off hit. Urrutia only played in 10 games for the Orioles in 2015, registering 9 hits in 36 plate appearances. After beginning the 2016 season in Double-A with the Bowie Baysox, Urrutia was designated for assignment by the Orioles on July 19, 2016.[9] He began the 2017 season in Norfolk before being released by the Orioles organization on May 25, 2017.[10]

Boston Red Sox

On June 14, 2017, Urrutia signed a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox organization.[11] In 73 games for the Double–A Portland Sea Dogs, Urrutia batted .284/.360/.389 with 3 home runs and 29 RBI. He elected free agency following the season on November 6.[12]

Diablos Rojos del México

On January 29, 2018, Urrutia signed with the Diablos Rojos del México of the Mexican Baseball League.[13] In 20 games he hit .413/.466/.538 with 1 home run and 14 RBIs.

Guerreros de Oaxaca

On August 16, 2018, Urrutia was traded to the Guerreros de Oaxaca of the Mexican Baseball League. He became a free agent following the season. In 17 games he hit .286/.429/.446 with 2 home runs and 14 RBIs.

Toros de Tijuana

On February 19, 2019, Urrutia signed with the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League.[14] In 42 games he hit .311/.364/.482 with 7 home runs, 35 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.

Saraperos de Saltillo

On June 4, 2019, Urrutia was traded to the Saraperos de Saltillo of the Mexican League. He played in 68 games for Saltillo, slashing .407/.467/.795 with 26 home runs and 65 RBI. Urrutia did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Mexican League season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[15]

In 2021, Urrutia played in 56 games for the Saraperos, hitting .385/.435/.606 with 12 home runs and 52 RBI. For the 2022 season, Urrutia was the Mexican League batting champion after he played in 90 games for Saltillo and hit .420/.479/.733 with 25 home runs and 88 RBI.[16] Urrutia returned in 2023, hitting .291/.334/.496 with 18 home runs and 60 RBI. In 2024, he batted .327/.407/.463 with three home runs and 26 RBI over 42 games.

Bravos de León

On June 14, 2024, Urrutia and Rainel Rosario were traded to the Bravos de León of the Mexican League in exchange for infielders Keven Lamas and Alejandro Mejía.[17] In 37 games he hit .390/.447/.539 with 4 home runs and 22 RBIs.

Personal

Urrutia is the son of Ermidelio Urrutia and a cousin of Osmani Urrutia. Both his father and cousin are Cuban outfielders.[1] He is currently married to Suse Urrutia with two sons.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Orioles Sign Cuban Outfielder Henry Urrutia". MLB.com (Press release). July 24, 2012. Archived from the original on April 30, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  2. ^ Dubroff, Rich (March 13, 2013). "Urrutia set to make impact with Orioles". Carroll County Times. Archived from the original on April 10, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  3. ^ "Cuban outfielder Urrutia has sights set on big leagues". Baltimore Orioles. MLB.com. March 6, 2013. Archived from the original on April 30, 2014. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  4. ^ Omar Luis (December 20, 2012). "Henry Urrutia Having Visa Trouble With Haitian Documents". Baseball America Prospects Blog. Baseball America. Archived from the original on May 22, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  5. ^ Kubatko, Roch (April 18, 2013). "Latest on S. Johnson, Wada, Roberts and Urrutia". School of Roch. Masnsports.com. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  6. ^ Gallen, Daniel (June 27, 2013). "Henry Urrutia promoted to Triple-A Norfolk". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  7. ^ Encina, Eduardo A. (July 18, 2013). "Orioles' Henry Urrutia and Danny Valencia expected to be called up this weekend". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  8. ^ Encina, Eduardo A. (September 13, 2013). "Dan Johnson called up and Steve Clevenger gets first start with Orioles". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  9. ^ "Orioles Designate Henry Urrutia for Assignment, Place Hyun Soo Kim on DL". July 19, 2016.
  10. ^ Todd, Jeff (May 25, 2017). "Minor MLB Transactions: 5/25/17". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  11. ^ "Sea Dogs OF Henry Urrutia hopes Red Sox offer path to MLB". July 2, 2017.
  12. ^ "Minor League Free Agents 2017". baseballamerica.com. November 7, 2017. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  13. ^ "El outfield cubano Henry Urrutia, tercer importado escarlata" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on January 30, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  14. ^ "Toros suma experiencia de Henry Urrutia" (in Spanish). February 19, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  15. ^ "Mexican League Cancels 2020 Season". July 2020.
  16. ^ "Leones: Realizan con Mifel alianza histórica".
  17. ^ "LMB: Movimientos en listas de reserva - 14 de junio de 2024". milb.com (in Spanish). Retrieved June 15, 2024.
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