Yunior Marte

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name = Yunior Marte

|image = Yunior Marte Phillies 2024 (cropped).png

|caption = Marte with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2024

|team = Chunichi Dragons

|number = 52

|position = Pitcher

|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1995|2|2}}

|birth_place = Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

|bats = Right

|throws = Right

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate = April 12

|debutyear = 2022

|debutteam = San Francisco Giants

|statleague = MLB

|statyear = 2024 season

|stat1label = Win–loss record

|stat1value = 2–2

|stat2label = Earned run average

|stat2value = 5.64

|stat3label = Strikeouts

|stat3value = 105

|teams =

San Francisco Giants ({{mlby|2022}})
Philadelphia Phillies ({{mlby|2023}}–{{mlby|2024}})

}}

Yunior Marte (born February 2, 1995) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies. In 2012, he signed as an international free agent with the Kansas City Royals.

Early and personal life

Marte was born in Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mlb.com/giants/player/yunior-marte-628708|title=Yunior Marte Stats, Fantasy & News|website=MLB.com}} During the offseason he lives in Santo Domingo Norte, Dominican Republic.

Career

=Kansas City Royals=

On July 19, 2012, when he was 17 years of age, he was signed as an international free agent by the Kansas City Royals for $200,000, but the result of his medical exams indicated that he had an elbow injury, so the team gave up signing him and days later negotiated with his agent and reached a $75,000 agreement.{{Cite web|url=http://kansascity.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/04/05/the-academy-roster-breakdown-a-ball-thru-aa/|title=The Academy – Minor League Roster Breakdown, Part 1|first=Clint|last=Scoles|date=5 April 2016 }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseballamerica.com/players/804/yunior-marte/|title=Yunior Marte Stats & Scouting Report – Baseball America|website=www.baseballamerica.com|date=16 July 2023 }}{{Cite web|url=https://royalsfarmreport.com/2018/02/22/prospect-watch-yunior-marte/|title=Prospect Watch: Yunior Marte|date=February 22, 2018}} In 2013, Marte was named Dominican Royals Pitcher of the Year in the Dominican Summer League, after going 4–3 with an earned run average of 1.71 in 11 appearances covering {{frac|47|1|3}} innings. Marte spent the 2014 season with the rookie-level Burlington Royals, posting a 4–3 record and 3.44 earned run average and 8 hit by pitches (2nd-highest in the league) over {{frac|52|1|3}} innings in 11 contests.

In 2015, Marte played for the Single-A Lexington Legends. He recorded a 4–5 record and 6.44 earned run average with 60 strikeouts, 38 walks (5.2 walks per 9 innings; 7th-highest in the league), 12 hit by pitch (6th in the league), 14 wild pitches (9th), and a 1.797 walks plus hits per inning pitched (third-highest in the league) over {{frac|65|2|3}} innings in 18 games.{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=marte-000yun|title=Yunior Marte Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics & History|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}

In 2016, for Single-A Lexington, Marte was 6–8 with one save and a 4.21 earned run average in 26 games (7 starts), in which he pitched a career-high 107 innings, threw 19 wild pitches (2nd in the South Atlantic League), led the league with 3 balks, walked 55 batters (6th-most in the league, and his 4.6 walks-per-9-innings were 7th-highest in the league), and struck out 103 batters (with his 1.87 strikeouts per walks rate being 10th-lowest in the league). He ranked sixth among South Atlantic League relievers with a batting average against of .225.

In 2017, Marte was a Carolina League mid-season All Star with the High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks.{{Cite web|url=https://www.milb.com/player/yunior-marte-628708|title = Yunior Marte Stats, Fantasy & News}} He also made 17 appearances for the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals on the year, in which he was 1–2 while registering a 5.75 earned run average with 27 walks (6.8 walks per 9 innings pitched) and 38 strikeouts (9.5 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched) in 36 innings, with a walks plus hits per inning pitched of 1.667. In 2018 pitching for the Double–A Northwest Arkansas Naturals he was 4–4 with two saves and a 2.91 earned run average in 43 relief appearances in which Marte pitched {{frac|80|1|3}} innings and struck out 80 batters.

File:Yunior_Marte_(48217971902)_(cropped).jpg

In 2019, Marte split the year between Northwest Arkansas and the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers. In 14 relief appearances between the two teams, he posted a 4.19 earned run average with 12 walks (5.6 walks per 9 innings) and 15 strikeouts in {{frac|19|1|3}} innings of work, and a walks plus hits per inning pitched of 1.552. Marte 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=mlbtraderumors.com|date=30 June 2020 |language=en}} On November 2, 2020, he elected minor league free agency.

=San Francisco Giants=

On December 9, 2020, Marte signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants organization. In 2021 for the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, Marte was 0–3 with four saves and a 3.49 earned run average in {{frac|56|2|3}} innings in which he gave up 23 walks and had 62 strikeouts (9.8 strikeouts per 9 innings) and a 1.465 walks plus hits per inning pitched over 43 games (one start). The Giants added Marte to their 40-man roster following the 2021 season.{{Cite web|url=https://www.milb.com/news/giants-add-river-cats-reliever-to-40-man-roster|title=Giants add River Cats reliever to 40-man roster|website=MiLB.com}}

After 3 scoreless appearances for Sacramento, on April 12, 2022, Marte was promoted to the major leagues for the first time to fill in for Tyler Rogers, who had been placed on paternity leave.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2022/4/12/23022371/giants-news-yunior-marte-tyler-rogers|title=Giants call up Yunior Marte|first=Brady|last=Klopfer|date=April 12, 2022|website=McCovey Chronicles}} Marte made his major league debut that day, pitching a scoreless inning of relief and allowing one hit to close out a 13–2 victory over the San Diego Padres.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/giants-yunior-marte-heads-back-to-triple-a/|title=Giants' Yunior Marte: Heads back to Triple-A|website=CBSSports.com|date=13 April 2022 }} Marte was optioned back to Triple-A the following day after John Brebbia was reinstated from the bereavement list.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2022/4/13/23023991/giants-john-brebbia-yunior-marte|title=Brebbia returns, Marte optioned|first=Brady|last=Klopfer|date=April 13, 2022|website=McCovey Chronicles}} On October 5, Marte earned his first career win after pitching two perfect innings against the San Diego Padres.{{Cite web|title=Giants' Yunior Marte: Snags win in season finale|url=https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/giants-yunior-marte-snags-win-in-season-finale/amp/|access-date=June 28, 2023|website=cbssports.com|language=en}}

Pitching for the Giants in 2022, he was 1–1 with a 5.44 earned run average in 39 relief appearances, in which he pitched 48 innings and gave up 22 walks while striking out 44 batters, and had a walks plus hits per inning pitched of 1.438.{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=marte-000yun|title=Yunior Marte Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics|website=Baseball-Reference.com}} Batters had a barrel percentage against him of 3.5%, in the lowest 3% in the major leagues.{{Cite web|url=https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/yunior-marte-628708?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb|title=Yunior Marte Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics |website=baseballsavant.com}} He mostly threw an 86 mph slider, a 97 mph sinker, and a 98 mph four-seam fastball.{{Cite web|url=http://www.brooksbaseball.net/landing.php?628708|title=BrooksBaseball.net Player Card: Yunior Marte|website=www.brooksbaseball.net}} Pitching for Sacramento in 2022 he was 1–1 with three saves and a 3.16 earned run average in 25 relief appearances, in which he pitched {{frac|25|2|3}} innings, giving up nine hits and striking out 35 batters.

=Philadelphia Phillies=

On January 9, 2023, the Giants traded Marte to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for pitcher Erik Miller.{{Cite web|title=Giants' Erik Miller: Dealt to San Fran|url=https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/giants-erik-miller-dealt-to-san-fran/amp/|access-date=2023-01-09|website=cbssports.com|language=en}} Pitching for the Phillies in 2023, he was 1–1 with a 5.03 earned run average, as he had a 1.627 walks plus hits per inning pitched in {{fraction|39|1|3}} innings over 40 games.

Marte made 23 appearances for the Phillies in 2024, struggling to a 6.92 earned run average with 23 strikeouts across 26 innings pitched. On November 4, Marte was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to the Triple–A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, but he rejected the assignment and elected free agency.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/minor-league-free-agents-2024/|title=Minor League Free Agents 2024|work=Baseball America|date=November 6, 2024|accessdate=November 6, 2024|first=Matt|last=Eddy}}

=Chunichi Dragons=

On November 23, 2024, Marte signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners organization.{{cite web|url=https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/11/mariners-sign-yunior-marte-to-minor-league-deal.html |title=Mariners Sign Yunior Marte To Minor League Deal |first=Nick |last=Deeds |date=November 23, 2024 |publisher=mlbtraderumors.com |access-date=November 23, 2024}} However, on February 5, 2025, Marte signed with the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball.{{Cite news |title=中日、大谷翔平斬り158キロ右腕の新外国人獲得メジャー102試合登板、30歳のユニオル・マルテ守護神候補として期待：中日スポーツ・東京中日スポーツ |url=https://www.chunichi.co.jp/article/1021528?rct=dragonsnews |access-date=2025-02-05 |language=ja}}