Guillermo Quiróz

Guillermo Quiróz
220px Quiroz with the San Francisco Giants
Free agent
Catcher
Born: (1981-11-29) November 29, 1981 Maracaibo, Venezuela
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 4, 2004, for the Toronto Blue Jays
MLB statistics (through 2014 season)
Batting average	.199
Home runs	3
Runs batted in	34
Teams
Toronto Blue Jays (2004–2005) Seattle Mariners (2006) Texas Rangers (2007) Baltimore Orioles (2008) Seattle Mariners (2009–2010) Boston Red Sox (2012) San Francisco Giants (2013–2014)

Guillermo Antonio Quiroz (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡiˈʝermo kiˈɾos]; born November 29, 1981) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher who is currently a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants.

Career

Toronto Blue Jays

Quiróz was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays as a non-drafted free agent in 1998, before his 17th birthday, with a lucrative $1.5 million signing bonus. He progressed through Toronto's system as the team's number-one catching prospect. In addition, Baseball America rated him as the Blue Jays' third best prospect in their 2004 pre-season rankings, and the 35th best prospect in all of baseball.

Defensively, Quiróz has good skills. In 2003 he threw out 45% of base stealers, and was the starting catcher for the World Team in the 2003 All-Star Futures Game.

Despite his low average in the minors, Quiróz is a patient hitter who receives a significant number of walks and can hit with decent power. He missed the end of the 2003 season with a collapsed lung. The broken hand he suffered in May 2004 hurt his chances of taking over as the Blue Jays' starting catcher in 2005.

In 2006, the Blue Jays signed catcher Jason Phillips initially as the backup to Gregg Zaun. They later signed Bengie Molina to be their new starter. This placed three catchers ahead of Quiróz on the Blue Jays' depth chart.

Seattle Mariners

On March 31, Quiróz was put on waivers by the Blue Jays, but was picked up by the Seattle Mariners on the same day. Quiróz started the seventh game of the 2006 season for the Mariners, but was outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma Rainers eight days later. Quiróz spent the rest of the season between Triple-A Tacoma and the Double-A San Antonio Missions.

Texas Rangers

Quiróz was signed by the Texas Rangers on December 28, 2006. He spent most of the 2007 season with the Triple-A Oklahoma RedHawks until a September call-up to the Majors. At the end of the 2007 season, the Rangers outrighted Quiróz to the minors, but he refused the assignment and became a free agent.

File:AAAA3029 Guillermo Quiróz.jpg

Quiróz playing for the Baltimore Orioles in 2008

Baltimore Orioles

On December 3, 2007, Quiróz signed a one-year major league contract with the Baltimore Orioles. He spent the 2008 season as the backup to catcher Ramón Hernández. According to Orioles.com, on March 20, 2009, the Orioles released Quiróz, "allowing the two Minor League veterans (the other was Scott Chiasson) to try and hook on with another club before the end of spring."

Second Stint with Mariners

On April 20, 2009 Quiróz signed a minor league deal with the Seattle Mariners. On May 14, 2009, he was assigned to the Double-A West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx from the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers. On May 26, 2009, he was called up from West Tennessee to the Seattle Mariners.

San Diego Padres

In 2011, Quiróz signed a minor league deal with the San Diego Padres, and spent the season playing for the Tucson Padres.

Third Stint with Mariners

Quiróz signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners in December 2011. He received an invitation to spring training, but did not play for the Mariners in 2012. Instead he played for their Triple-A affiliate Tacoma Rainiers.

Boston Red Sox

On September 4, 2012, the Mariners traded Quiróz to the Boston Red Sox for cash considerations. According to the Red Sox transactions page, Quiróz was designated for assignment on October 4. According to the International League transactions page, Quiróz was outrighted to the Pawtucket Red Sox on October 10, but chose to become a free agent.

San Francisco Giants

He signed a minor league deal with an invite to spring training with the San Francisco Giants. On May 4, 2013 Quiróz hit his first career walk-off home run, a tenth inning, pinch-hit homer against former battery mate Brandon League of the Los Angeles Dodgers, leading the Giants to a 10-9 victory.

On November 15, 2013 Quiróz signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants.

On November 20, 2014 Quiróz re-signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)