Charlie Valerio

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name = Charlie Valerio

|image = Charlie Valerio (cropped).png

|caption = Valerio with Leones del Escogido in 2021

|team = Tampa Bay Rays

|number = 96

|position = Catcher/Bullpen catcher

|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1990|11|7}}

|birth_place = Santiago, Dominican Republic

|bats = Both

|throws = Right

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|statleague =

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|stat1label = Batting average

|stat1value =

|stat2label = Home runs

|stat2value =

|stat3label = Runs batted in

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{{MedalCountry | {{DOM}}}}

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Charlie Samuel Valerio (born November 7, 1990) is a Dominican former professional baseball catcher and current bullpen catcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball. He signed with the Cleveland Indians as an international free agent in 2010 and played in the minor & independent leagues from 2010–2021. Valerio also played for the Dominican Republic national baseball team.

Career

=Cleveland Indians=

On May 26, 2010, Valerio signed with the Cleveland Indians organization as an international free agent.{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/88882/charlie-valerio/|title=Charlie Valerio Stats & Scouting Report|website=Baseball America|date=November 2023 }} He made his professional debut with the Dominican Summer League Indians. In 2011, Valerio played for the rookie-level AZL Indians, batting .272/.359/.422 with 5 home runs and 21 RBI. The following season, Valerio split the year between the Low-A Mahoning Valley Scrappers and the Single-A Lake County Captains, accumulating a .255/.331/.394 with 5 home runs and 35 RBI. In 2013, Valerio played for the High-A Carolina Mudcats, posting a .238/.305/.346 slash with 2 home runs and 26 RBI.{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=valeri001cha|title = Charlie Valerio Minor, Winter & Independent Leagues Statistics & History}} For the 2014 season, Valerio split the season between Carolina and the Double-A Akron RubberDucks, batting a cumulative .250/.355/.325 with no home runs and 5 RBI before he was released by the Indians organization on July 23, 2014.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mlb.com/player/charlie-valerio-593434|title = Charlie Valerio Stats, Fantasy & News|website = MLB.com}}

=Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks=

On March 27, 2015, Valerio signed with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.{{Cite web|url=https://aabaseball.com/transactions/2015-transactions/|title=American Association of Professional Baseball - 2015 Transactions}} In 65 games with the RedHawks, Valerio slashed .268/.336/.403 with 5 home runs and 26 RBI. On May 18, 2016, Valerio was released by the team.

=Joplin Blasters=

On May 25, 2016, Valerio signed with the Joplin Blasters of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.{{Cite web|url=https://aabaseball.com/transactions/2016-transactions/|title=American Association of Professional Baseball - 2016 Transactions}} In 58 games for the Blasters, Valerio batted .297/.351/.457 with 6 home runs and 32 RBI.

=Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (second stint)=

On July 30, 2016, Valerio was claimed off waivers by the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.{{Cite web|url=https://aabaseball.com/transactions/2016-transactions/|title=American Association of Professional Baseball - 2016 Transactions}} He played in 26 games for the RedHawks, hitting .325/.411/.500 with 3 home runs and 15 RBI. He remained with the club after re-signing on February 10, 2017,{{Cite web|url=https://aabaseball.com/transactions/2017-transactions/|title=American Association of Professional Baseball - 2017 Transactions}} and logged a .275/.343/.472 with 12 home runs and 47 RBI in 93 games. On February 6, 2018, Valerio returned to Fargo for a fourth season,{{Cite web|url=https://aabaseball.com/transactions/2018-transactions/|title=American Association of Professional Baseball - 2018 Transactions}} and slashed .258/.306/.425 with 12 home runs and 46 RBI in 82 games.

=Southern Maryland Blue Crabs=

On December 11, 2018, Valerio was traded to the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball in exchange for two players to be named later.{{Cite web|title=BLUE CRABS SIGN CATCHER, CHARLIE VALERIO|url=https://somdbluecrabs.com/news/?article_id=244|website=somdbluecrabs.com|language=en}} He appeared in 109 games for the Blue Crabs in 2019, hitting .262/.296/.416 with 11 home runs and 46 RBI.

=San Diego Padres=

On November 14, 2019, Valerio signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres organization.{{Cite web|title=Charlie Valerio Signs With The San Diego Padres|url=https://www.thebaynet.com/articles/1119/charlie-valerio-signs-with-the-san-diego-padres.html|website=theybatnet.com|date=November 14, 2019|language=en}} Valerio did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web|title=2020 Minor League Season Canceled|url=https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/06/2020-minor-league-season-will-be-canceled.html|website=mlb traderumors.com|date=June 30, 2020 |language=en}} He was released by the Padres on May 28, 2020.{{Cite web|title=Facing loss of 2020 minor league season, Padres make releases|url=https://madfriars.com/2020/06/03/facing-lost-2020-season-padres-releases/|access-date=2023-05-02|website=madfriars.com|date=June 3, 2020 |language=en}}

=Sioux Falls Canaries=

On February 11, 2021, Valerio signed with the Sioux Falls Canaries of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.{{Cite web|title=Voila! Veteran Valerio signs to be Canaries' catcher|url=http://sfcanaries.com/press-box/news/voila-veteran-valerio-signs-to-be-canaries-catcher/|website=sfcanaries.com|language=en|access-date=July 11, 2021|archive-date=August 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210807203305/http://sfcanaries.com/press-box/news/voila-veteran-valerio-signs-to-be-canaries-catcher/|url-status=dead}} On December 15, 2021, the Canaries re-signed Valerio for the 2022 season.{{Cite web|url=https://aabaseball.com/transactions/2021-transactions|title=American Association of Professional Baseball - 2021 Transactions}} He was released by the team before the start of the season on April 6, 2022, in order to fulfill his obligations with the Tampa Bay Rays.{{Cite web|url=https://aabaseball.com/transactions/|title=American Association of Professional Baseball - 2022 Transactions}}

Post-playing career

On April 6, 2022, Valerio was hired as a bullpen catcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB) for the 2022 season.{{cite web |last1=Topkin |first1=Marc |title=A look at what the Rays' roster may look like on opening day |url=https://www.tampabay.com/sports/rays/2022/03/26/a-look-at-what-the-rays-roster-may-look-like-on-opening-day/ |website=Tampa Bay Times |access-date=April 6, 2022}}

International career

On July 8, 2021, Valerio was named to the Olympic roster for the Dominican Republic national baseball team for the 2020 Summer Olympics (contested in 2021).{{Cite tweet|user=probeisbolrd|number=1413221019863629830|title=Nuestro roster para @Tokyo2020 #ArribaRD #Tokyo2020|date=8 July 2021|language=en|access-date=8 July 2021}}