| Luis Avilán | |
|---|---|
 Avilán with the Mets in 2019 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1989-07-19)July 19, 1989 (age 36) Caracas, Venezuela | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 14, 2012, for the Atlanta Braves | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| April 15, 2021, for the Washington Nationals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 23–11 |
| Earned run average | 3.43 |
| Strikeouts | 319 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
Luis Armando Avilán (born July 19, 1989) is a Venezuelan former professionalbaseballpitcher. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theAtlanta Braves,Los Angeles Dodgers,Chicago White Sox,Philadelphia Phillies,New York Mets,New York Yankees, andWashington Nationals.
Avilán signed with theAtlanta Braves as an internationalfree agent in 2005[1] and he began his professional career the following year with the Braves affiliate in theDominican Summer League.[2] In 2008, he joined theGulf Coast Braves, his first assignment to a domestic team.[2] He was the GCL Braves pitcher of the month for August when he had a 2.93 ERA in three starts.[3] In 2009, he was promoted to theDanville Braves of theAppalachian League, where he made 14 appearances, including three starts and had a 3.05 ERA with two saves.[2] In 2010, he made 41 appearances between theRome Braves of theSouth Atlantic League and theMyrtle Beach Pelicans of theCarolina League and was a combined 6–4 with a 4.33 ERA in 41 games. He also saved nine games that season as thecloser for Myrtle Beach.[2][4] In 2011, with theMississippi Braves of theSouthern League, he was 4–8 with a 4.57 ERA in 36 appearances, including 13 starts.[2]
The Braves added him to their40-man roster after the 2011 season to protect him from theRule 5 draft.[5] He began the 2012 season in Mississippi, where he was 3–6 with a 3.23 ERA 16 games (12 starts).[2] He was promoted to the Triple-AGwinnett Braves of theInternational League on July 4, 2012, but did not make an appearance for them.[3]
On July 5, 2012, Avilán was called up by the Braves to replace the injuredJonny Venters.[6] He made his first appearance on July 14 against theNew York Mets, striking out the only batter he faced (Ike Davis).[3] His first career win came on October 3 against thePittsburgh Pirates on the final day of the season.[7] In 31 appearances that season for the Braves, he had an ERA of 2.00.[1]
Avilán made 75 appearances in 2013 (4th in the NL), posting a 1.52 earned run average with a .144 batting average against and .219 on base percentage.[1] In addition, he made appearances in all four games of the2013 NLDS against theLos Angeles Dodgers, allowing three hits and no runs in2+2⁄3 innings.[8]
However, he struggled through the first half of the 2014 season, recording a 4.85 ERA in 47 games.[9] Avilán was demoted to Triple A Gwinnett on July 19, 2014, and replaced byChasen Shreve.[10] He would finish the 2014 season with a 4.57 ERA in 62 games.[1] 2015 was kinder to Avilán in a Braves uniform, as in 50 appearances, he posted a 3.58 ERA with a 1.20WHIP.During his time with the Braves, Radio AnnouncerDon Sutton would often sing Avilan's name in a sing-song manner to the tune ofFeliz Navidad.[1]
On July 30, 2015, in a three-team trade, theLos Angeles Dodgers acquired Avilán,Mat Latos,Michael Morse,Bronson Arroyo,Alex Wood,Jim Johnson, andJosé Peraza, while theMiami Marlins acquired minor league pitchers Victor Araujo,Jeff Brigham, and Kevin Guzman, and the Braves receivedHéctor Olivera,Paco Rodriguez, minor league pitcher Zachary Bird and a competitive balance draft pick for the2016 MLB draft.[11] He pitched in 23 games for the Dodgers with a 5.17 ERA.[12]
At the conclusion of the season, the Dodgers signed him to a one-year, $1.39 million, contract to avoidsalary arbitration[13] though he began the season with the Triple-AOklahoma City Dodgers after experiencing control problems inspring training.[14] He split the season between the minors and the majors, appearing in 33 games for Oklahoma City, with a 4.24 ERA[2] and 27 games for Los Angeles, with a 3.20 ERA.[1] He also pitched in3+2⁄3 innings in the playoffs between the2016 National League Division Series and the2016 National League Championship Series, without allowing any earned runs.[1] He signed a $1.5 million contract for 2017, avoiding salary arbitration.[15]
Avilán spent the entire 2017 season in the Dodgers bullpen. In 61 games, he had a 2–3 record and 2.93 ERA.[1] He felt some pain in his shoulder in September, leading to a diagnosis of "shoulder inflammation." As a result, he was left off the Dodgers playoff roster.[16]
On January 4, 2018, Avilán was traded to theChicago White Sox in a three-team trade that also sent Jake Peter andScott Alexander to the Dodgers,Joakim Soria to the White Sox, andTrevor Oaks andErick Mejia to theKansas City Royals.[17]
On August 22, 2018, Avilán was traded to thePhiladelphia Phillies in exchange for minor league pitcher Felix Paulino.[18] Between the two teams, in 2018 he was 2–1 with two saves and a 3.77 ERA. He threw a change-up 48.1% of the time, tops in MLB.[19] He elected free agency on November 30. In his career through 2018 he had held left-handed batters to a batting average of .213, and right-handed batters to a batting average of .244.
On January 10, 2019, Avilán signed a minor league deal with theNew York Mets that included an invitation tospring training.[20] He made the team and had his contract purchased for opening day. On April 15, 2019, Avilán earned his first victory as a Met in a game against thePhiladelphia Phillies. On the season, he registered an 5.06 ERA with 30 strikeouts in 32.0 innings of work.[21] He elected free agency on October 31, 2019.
On February 3, 2020, Avilán signed a minor league contract with theNew York Yankees. On July 21, Avilán had his contract selected to the 40-man roster. On August 28, Avilán was released by the Yankees two days after being placed on the injured list due to shoulder inflammation. He had pitched to a 4.32 ERA across8+1⁄3 innings in 2020.[22]
On December 14, 2020, Avilán signed a minor league contract with theWashington Nationals organization.[23] On March 28, 2021, Avilán was selected to the 40-man roster.[24] On April 17, it was announced that Avilán had suffered a tear in his leftUCL, requiringTommy John surgery and ending his season early.[25] He was placed on the 60-day injured list on April 30.[26] In 4 games for the Nationals in 2021, Avilán registered a 12.60 ERA with 4 strikeouts. Avilán became a free agent following the season and re-signed with the Nationals on a minor league contract on November 29, 2021.[27]
In 2022, Avilán spent the season in the Nationals' minor league system. Playing in 36 games split between the High–AWilmington Blue Rocks and Triple–ARochester Red Wings, he recorded a cumulative 4.84 ERA with 39 strikeouts in35+1⁄3 innings pitched. Avilán elected free agency following the season on November 10, 2022.[28]
On October 20, 2023, Avilán retired from professional baseball.[29]
On February 18, 2024, Avilán was hired to serve as the assistant pitching coach for theFlorida Complex League Phillies, the rookie-level affiliate of thePhiladelphia Phillies.