Cole Figueroa
Infielder
Born: (1987-06-30) June 30, 1987
Tallahassee, Florida, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 16, 2014, for the Tampa Bay Rays
Last MLB appearance
June 10, 2016, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
MLB statistics
Batting average.208
Home runs0
Runs batted in9
Teams

Stephen Coleman Figueroa (born June 30, 1987) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) infielder who played for the Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates between 2014 and 2016. He currently works in the Tampa Bay Rays front office as the Director of Baseball Operations.

Amateur career

Figueroa attended Lincoln High School in Tallahassee, Florida,[1] where he helped take the school's baseball team to the District 4A Championship. Figueroa played college baseball at the University of Florida while majoring in Sports Management. Figueroa's college achievements included All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) Freshman Team the SEC all-academic team. Figueroa was also named freshman All-American by rivals.com, Louisville Slugger, and Baseball America. He was selected to the Dick Howser Trophy watch list.

In 2008, Figueroa was named to the All-SEC academic team. He was named a Golden Spikes Award finalist along with being named to the midseason watch list for the Brooks Wallace Award. Figueroa led the Gators that year in average, home runs, RBI, Slugging percentage and on-base percentage.

In 2007, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL), and was named a league all-star. He returned to the CCBL in 2008 to play for the Orleans Cardinals.[2][3][4]

Professional career

Tampa Bay Rays

Figueroa was drafted in the 6th round in the 2008 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres. Figueroa received an over slot $400,000 signing bonus when he signed a contract with the Padres on July 5, 2008.[5]

The Padres traded Figueroa to the Tampa Bay Rays along with Brandon Gomes, Cesar Ramos, and Adam Russell in exchange for Jason Bartlett on December 17, 2010.[6] The Rays called up Figueroa to the major leagues on May 15, 2014[7] and he made his MLB debut two days later.[1]

New York Yankees

Figueroa signed with the New York Yankees organization on a minor league contract in December 2014.[8] He began the season with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of the Class AAA International League. The Yankees promoted Figueroa to the major leagues on July 9.[9] He elected free agency on November 6, 2015.[10]

Pittsburgh Pirates

On December 8, 2015, Figueroa signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates.[11] On April 2, 2016, it was announced that Figueroa would make the Pirates Opening Day roster as a reserve infielder, beating out offseason acquisition Jason Rogers and incumbent Pedro Florimón for the job.[12] He hit .260/.321/.340 in 57 plate appearances in spring training.

Figueroa made his Pirates debut on April 8, 2016, fouling out to third base in a pinch hit appearance. On June 24, he was designated for assignment.[13]

Los Angeles Dodgers

On June 28, 2016, he was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Dodgers and optioned to the AAA Oklahoma City Dodgers.[14] He was designated for assignment by the Dodgers on July 8, and elected free agency over an outright assignment on July 11.[15][16]

Post-playing career

On December 16, 2021, the Tampa Bay Rays announced that Figueroa had been promoted to serve as the team's director of baseball operations.[17]

Personal life

Figueroa is the son of Cindy and Bien Figueroa. His father played in the major leagues for the St. Louis Cardinals. Cole, his wife Natalie, and son Coleman currently reside in Tampa, FL.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Jim Henry, Tallahassee Democrat (May 17, 2014). "Former Lincoln SS Figueroa makes major-league debut". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  2. ↑ "2007 Harwich Mariners". thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  3. ↑ "2008 Orleans Cardinals". thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star rosters". Yarmouth Register. Yarmouth, MA. July 26, 2007. p. 18.
  5. ↑ "Padres sign sixth-round pick Cole Figueroa". San Diego Padres. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  6. ↑ "San Diego News, Local, California and National News | UTSanDiego.com". Signonsandiego.com. December 8, 2013. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Rays call up Cole Figueroa". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Minor League Transactions: Dec. 6–12". BaseballAmerica.com. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Who is Yankees' recent call-up Cole Figueroa?". NJ.com. July 9, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  10. ↑ "International League Transactions". milb.com. p. November 2015. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  11. ↑ Polishuk, Mark (December 8, 2015). "Minor MLB Transactions: 12/8/15". mlb trade rumors. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  12. ↑ Wilmoth, Charlie (April 2, 2016). "Cole Figueroa to make Pirates' Opening Day roster". SB Nation.
  13. ↑ Todd, Jeff (June 24, 2016). "Pirates Designate Cole Figueroa, Jorge Rondon". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  14. ↑ Stephen, Eric (June 28, 2016). "Dodgers claim Cole Figueroa off waivers from Pirates". SB Nation. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  15. ↑ Stephen, Eric (July 8, 2016). "Andrew Toles called up from Triple-A, Dodgers option Carlos Frias". SB Nation. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  16. ↑ Adams, Steve (July 11, 2016). "Minor MLB Transactions: 7/11/16". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  17. ↑ "MLB rumors: Rays promote ex-Yankees infielder in front-office reorganization". December 16, 2021.
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