# Carlos Teller

Carlos José Téller de León (born October 3, 1986) is a Nicaraguan professional baseball pitcher. He has played in the minor leagues, the Mexican League, and various winter league teams, most recently the Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Professional Baseball League. He represented the Nicaragua national baseball team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

## Professional career
### Minor leagues

On October 21, 2004, Teller signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization as an international free agent. He made his professional debut with the Venezuelan Summer League Pirates, working to a 4.03 earned run average (ERA) in 15 games in 2005. The following year, he posted a 2.86 ERA in the Venezuelan Summer League. Missing the 2007 season due to injury, he posted a 4.37 ERA with the Gulf Coast Pirates in 2008.
Teller signed with the San Francisco Giants organization on November 28, 2012, after spending four years outside of affiliated baseball. He first appeared with the Class A Advanced San Jose Giants on April 17, 2013. After three games, Teller was promoted to the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies. He pitched to a 1.69 ERA over 2 games with the Grizzlies, but was demoted to the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels. After earning a 5.64 ERA with Richmond, he was released on July 11, 2013.

### Mexican League

Teller signed with the Pericos de Puebla of the Mexican League on February 9, 2015. Despite being born in Nicaragua, Teller's Mexican ancestry allowed him to make up part of Puebla's native player quota, rather than being rostered as a foreign import. In the 2015 LMB season, he worked to a 5.44 ERA in 25 games, 14 of them starts.
Before the start of the 2016 season, Puebla traded Teller to the Olmecas de Tabasco in exchange for right-fielder Rubén Rivera. With Tabasco, he posted a 4.24 ERA over 20 games. The next year, his ERA worsened to a 6.88, over 18 games.
In 2018, Teller signed with the Saraperos de Saltillo. He elected free agency later that year, signing with the Bravos de León. In 2019, he appeared with the Generales de Durango. In 2021, he appeared with the Rieleros de Aguascalientes, earning a 5.13 ERA.

## International career

Teller plays for the Nicaragua national baseball team. In 2025, he became the first Nicaraguan to participate in four different qualifying tournaments for the World Baseball Classic (2012, 2016, 2022, 2025). At the 2013 WBC qualifiers, he pitched 1.0 scoreless innings, but Nicaragua failed to qualify. At the 2017 WBC qualifiers, he pitched 3.1 innings in two games, allowing 5 earned runs.
Teller pitched at the qualifiers for the 2020 Summer Olympics; he allowed 7 hits, 2 walks, and 3 earned runs in a loss to the United States.
At the 2023 WBC qualifiers, he pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless relief in three games, as Nicaragua earned its first WBC berth in its history. At the 2023 World Baseball Classic, he pitched 2.2 scoreless innings in two appearances for Nicaragua In the game against Israel, Teller induced an inning-ending double play on a bases loaded situation that would have given Israel the lead. However, Nicaragua ultimately lost the game, finishing last in its pool and forcing the team to requalify.