December 10

Jimmy Johnston (1889)
Rudy Hernandez (1931)
Jaime Jarrin (1935)
Doc Edwards (1936)
Bob Priddy (1939)
Dalton Jones (1943)
Steve Renko (1944)
Paul Assenmacher (1960)
Doug Henry (1963)
Luis Polonia (1963)
Mel Rojas (1966)
Joe Mays (1975)
Dan Wheeler (1977)
Gregorio Petit (1984)
Pedro Florimon (1986)

Pitcher Rudy Hernandez was a member of the old Washington franchise in 1960, but was chosen by the new Washington franchise in the expansion draft in December of 1960.

Jaime Jarrin has been the Dodgers' Spanish-language broadcaster since 1959.  For all the accolades Vin Scully has gotten (and they're deserved), it would be nice if Jarrin got a little more attention.

Right-hander Joseph Emerson Mays played for the Twins from 1999-2003 and again in 2005. He really only had one good major league season, but he turned it into some substantial money. A cousin of Carl Mays, he was born in Flint, Michigan, went to Southeast High School in Bradenton, Florida, and was drafted by Seattle in the sixth round in 1994. He pitched well in the minors, but took a long time to advance, spending three and a half years combined in rookie and A ball. The first three of those years were in the Mariners organization; at the end of the 1997 season, he was traded to Minnesota as the player to be named later in the deal that sent Roberto Kelly to Seattle. He advanced to AA in 1998, then was jumped to the big leagues in 1999. For a 23-year-old who had never pitched above AA, he didn't do too badly. In 2000, however, he stumbled, going 7-15 with a 5.56 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP in 160 innings. Then, in 2001, he had by far his best season, going 17-13 with a 3.16 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He led the league in ERA+ that year with 145 and made his only all-star appearance. The Twins rewarded him with a long-term contract, but unfortunately, Mays almost immediately started to have arm trouble, and never had a good year again. He struggled through sub-par seasons with the Twins in 2002 and 2003, did not pitch at all in 2004, and continued to struggle in 2005. He made 64 starts for Minnesota in those years, posting an ERA well over five. A free agent after 2005, he bounced around, as teams kept hoping he would regain his 2001 form. Mays started 2006 with Kansas City, was released in May, finished the season with Cincinnati, signed with the Dodgers for 2007, went to the minors, and was released in May again, his career over. At last report, Joe Mays had returned to live in the Bradenton area.

Infielder Gregorio Jesus Petit appeared in twenty-six games for the Twins in 2018.  He was born in Ocumare del Tuy, Venezuela and signed with Oakland as a free agent in 2001.  He had a solid year for Class A Kane County in 2005, did well in AA Midland in 2007, and was promoted to AAA for the second half of the 2007 season.  He reached the majors for about six weeks in 2008, used mostly as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement, but batted well in the few chances he got, going 8-for-23 over 14 games.  2009 was similar, as he again spent about six weeks in the majors and got 31 at-bats over 11 games.  He then started bouncing around, going to Texas in 2010, not signing with anyone in 2011, going to Cleveland in 2012, and moving to San Diego in 2013.  He did not play in the majors in any of those seasons.  In 2014, however, he went to Houston and made it back to the majors, spending a little over two months with the Astros and batting .278 over 97 at-bats.  He moved on to the Yankees in 2015, getting 47 big-league at bats.  2016 found him with the Angels, where he got the most playing time of his career.  Unfortunately, he didn't do a lot with it.  He wasn't terrible, but he batted .245/.299/.348 in 204 at-bats.  He was in AAA with Toronto in 2017.  He signed with the Twins shortly before his birthday in 2018.  At that time, we said, "One assumes he is roster filler/minor league depth.  He'll never be a regular, but he looks like someone who could fill in for a few weeks and at least resemble a major league ballplayer."  I'd say we got that about right.  In his twenty-six games for the Twins, he batted .246/.313/.279.  He is currently a free agent.  He turns thirty-four today, and what we said about him last year still applies.

Shortstop Pedro Alexander Florimon, Jr. has played for the Twins since the last six weeks of 2012.  He was born in La Romana, Dominican Republic and signed with Baltimore as a free agent in 2004.  He must have played somewhere that season and in 2005, but his stats at b-r.com begin in 2006.  He hit .333 in 120 at-bats for Rookie-level Bluefield that season, but struggled at bat since then.  With the exception of seven games in 2009, he did not get above Class A until half-way through the 2010 season, when he finally went to AA Bowie.  He struggled there that season, but in 2011 had his best batting season since rookie ball, hitting .267/.344/.396.  The Orioles were impressed enough to give him a September call-up, in which he went 1-for-8.  They weren't impressed enough to keep him around, though, placing him on waivers in early December.  The Twins claimed him and sent him to New Britain.  When he hit for a decent average in a little over a month there, he was promoted to AAA, and in mid-August he made his debut in Minnesota.  He was the starting shortstop the rest of the season, hitting .219/.269/.303.  He was the Twins' regular shortstop in 2013 and hit about the same.  He started 2014 as the Twins' regular shortstop, but his offense fell apart completely and he was sent to AAA in early May.  The Twins waived him in September and he was claimed by Washington, but the Nationals waived him in November.  He was claimed by Pittsburgh.  He started 2015 in the minors but got back to the Pirates for nearly half the season, playing mostly as a pinch-runner or a defensive replacement.  He was again in AAA in 2016 but got a September call-up.  He signed with Philadelphia for 2017 and spent most of the year at AAA, coming to the majors in mid-August and playing in fifteen games.  He batted .348, although in only forty-six at-bats.  He split 2018 between the majors and AAA and went back to normal.  He has re-signed with Philadelphia for 2018.   He's thirty-two today, his career minor league OPS is .700 and his major league career OPS is .588, so it seems unlikely that he'll ever hit.  He can play defense, though, so it's possible he'll get another chance to be a utility player.