Raul Valdes #46

Was a member of the Cuban National Team before defecting from the country in 2003... was signed by the Chicago Cubs as a 16-year old non-drafted free agent on March 31, 2004...signed by Cubs scout Leon Lee. Was a two-way player in his first year of pro ball with the DSL Cubs in 2004...as an outfielder, hit .241 with three homers... struck out a league-best 152 batters in 87.2 innings that year on the mound. If he gets into a game this season, Valdes would become the first Cuban-born pitcher to appear in a game for the Astros since 1978, when RHP Oscar Zamora tossed 0.2 of an inning on July 21 at Philadelphia ... Valdes would join LHP Mike Cuellar, RHP Aurelio Monteagudo and Zamora as the only Cuban-born pitchers to appear in a game for the Astros. Originally added to a Major League 40-man roster by Philadelphia on May 11, 2012... claimed off waivers by Houston from the Phillies on Oct. 2, 2013...is signed to a one year contract that runs through the 2014 season.

2013

Made his first career Opening Day roster and pitched in 17 games (one start) for Philadelphia ... struck out 37 with eight walks in 35.0 innings ... held left-handed hitters to a .229 (11x48) average ... all but one of his 17 outings lasted at least 1.0 inning...went 2.0 or more innings in 11 of his 17 outings ... struck out two or more batters in 12 of those 17 appearances ... began the year in the Majors before getting optioned to Triple A Lehigh Valley on May 17 ... recalled back to Philly on July 23...optioned to Lehigh Valley on Aug. 19 where he remained for the rest of the season...during his final stint with the Phillies (July 23-Aug. 19), posted a 2.38 ERA (3ER/11.1IP) with 13 strikeouts and just one walk across six appearances ... was used exclusively as a starter for Triple A Lehigh ... went 4-5 with a 2.86 ERA (25ER/78.2IP) and 66 strikeouts in 14 starts...had a 21.2 scoreless innings streak that lasted from May 7-29, which marked the third longest such streak in Lehigh Valley franchise history...pitched for the Toros del Este of the Dominican Winter League in the offseason ... in eight starts, went 2-2 with a 3.09 ERA (15ER/43.2IP) and 34 strikeouts...walked just five batters and held opponents to a .259 (44x170) batting average.

2012

Was a non-roster invitee to Phillies spring training ... Began the season with Lehigh Valley (AAA) ... 14 of his 16 appearances were scoreless; allowed all of his 9 ER in 2.2 IP in other 2 games ... Did not issue a walk over his first 9 appearances (16.0 IP); averaged 0.60 BB/9.0 IP (2 BB, 30.0 IP) ... Pitched 2.0 or more innings in 10 of his 16 appearances for Lehigh Valley ... Had his contract selected on 5/11 and made his Phillies debut, 5/16 at CHI ... 22 of his 26 relief appearances for the Phillies were scoreless, including his first 7 (8.1 IP) ... Earned wins in consecutive team games, 5/24-25 at STL ... Made his 2nd ML start and first since 2010 on 6/27 vs PIT (L, 2.0 IP, 3 ER) ... Was on the 15-day DL with a right hip strain, 7/13 (retroactive to 7/9)-8/5 ... Tied his career high in wins with his 3rd of the season, 8/23 vs CIN ... Pitched more than 1.0 inning in 11 of his 27 appearances and had a 2.33 ERA (5 ER, 19.1 IP) in those games ... Posted a 0.93 ERA (1 ER, 9.2 IP) over his last 11 appearances of the season ... Placed on the DL (right knee inflammation) on 9/9 (retro to 8/31) ... Underwent arthroscopic surgery on the meniscus in his right knee, 9/10.

2011

Began the season with Memphis (AAA)...Made 7 straight starts (2-2, 7.13 ERA) before being moved to the bullpen...His first 12 relief appearances were scoreless (14.1 IP) and overall went 4-0, 1.14 ERA in 20 relief appearances for Memphis...Averaged 9.5 SO/9.0 IP with Memphis...Had his contract selected by STL on 6/23 and made 7 relief appearances before being optioned back to Memphis on 7/28...Was designated for assignment on 8/12; was claimed off waivers by NYY on 8/16 and assigned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (AAA)...Made a combined 5 appearances between Scranton and Trenton (AA) before having his contract selected by NYY on 9/1...Pitched for Toros del Este in the Dominican Winter League.

2010

Appeared in 38 games for the New York Mets, with 37 appearances as a reliever. ... Made his first and only career start on 10/2 vs. WSH, throwing a career-high 5.1 innings and allowed one run on three hits, struck out five and walked four in a no-decision of a 7-2 Mets win. ... Started out the season at Buffalo (AAA) before being purchased by the Mets on 4/11. ... Recorded first ML save on 5/25 vs. PHI, tossing three scoreless innings to close out an 8-0 win. ... Made six consecutive scoreless apperances from 7/19-28 covering 10.0 IP. ... Recorded 17 appearances of four outs or more; and six appearances of 3.0 IP or more (five in relief). ... Collected his first ML hit, a single off Felipe Lopez (4/17 at STL), in his first ML plate appearance during the 18th inning. ... Earned his first career win on 5/11 vs. WSH, throwing a shutout inning in an 8-6 win. ... Worked a Mets season-high 5.0 innings in relief on 5/20 at WSH to earn his second win of the season, marking the first time a Mets reliever threw 5.0 innings since Darren Oliver in 2007 vs. FLA. ... Went 2-1 with a 3.06 ERA (12 earned runs/35.1 innings) in seven starts for Buffalo...Went 7.0 innings twice, in consecutive starts, August 20th and August 25th...Allowed three runs or less in all of his nine outings, seven starts, at Buffalo. ... Posted a reverse split with LH batters hitting .330 (29-88), while RH batters only hit .216 (30-139), with 24 of his 27 walks coming against a RH batter.

2009

Pitched for Toros del Este of the Dominican Winter League...went 2-0 with a 2.02 ERA (8 ER/35.2 IP) in 11 games, six starts...allowed 35 hits while walking five and striking out 22 ...allowed more than one earned run in only one of his 11 outings ...limited LH hitters to an .087 (2-23) batting average...as a starter, went 2-0 with a 1.74 ERA (6 ER/31.0 IP)...pitched for the Caribbean World Series Champions from the Dominican Republic posting a 2-0 record with a 4.09 ERA (5 ER/11.0 IP) in two starts against Puerto Rico and Venezuela.

2008

Pitched for Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Winter League...went 1-1 with an 11.12 ERA (7 ER/5.2 IP) in five games, one start...Allowed 11 hits, with two walks and two strikeouts...as a reliever, went 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA (two earned runs/3.1 innings) in four relief appearances...limited LH batters to a .125 (1-8) BA.

2007

Split the season between St. Lucie (A) of the Florida State League and Binghamton (AA) of the Eastern League...began the season with St. Lucie before being promoted to Binghamton on 5/12 after three appearances, two as a reliever...was exclusively a reliever with Binghamton and was un-scored upon in his final 7.2 innings of work from 8/17 through the end of the season... pitched for Gigantes del Cibao in the Dominican Winter League, going 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA (5 ER/8.1 IP) while making two starts.

2006

Attended Spring Training with the Chicago Cubs as a non-roster invitee...began the season with Iowa (AAA) of the Pacific Coast League...was released by the Cubs on 5/17...signed with Nashua of the Independent Canadian American League on 6/1 and appeared in four games with the Pride...was traded from Nashua to New Jersey on 6/14 and spent the rest of the season with the Jackals...went 5-1 with a 2.68 ERA (15 ER/50.1 IP) over the final two months of the season...was named the Player of the Week for the week of 7/17-23 and tossed a complete-game shutout while striking out eight in his only start during that period.

2005

Opened the season with West Tennessee (AA) of the Southern League before being promoted to Iowa (AAA) of the Pacific Coast League on 5/9...earned his first professional save on 8/10 vs. LV, hurling 3.0 scoreless innings.

2004

Split time as an outfielder and a pitcher while playing for the Dominican Cubs...hit .241 (42-174) with 12 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 26 RBI in 50 games as an outfielder... also went 7-2 with a 0.51 ERA in 16 games, nine starts, as a pitcher...In 87.2 innings, he struck out 152 batters for a 16.88 strikeouts per nine innings ratio...walked only eight batters for a 19-to-1, strikeout-to-walk ratio.