Fernando Abad
Fernando Antonio Abad (; born December 17, 1985) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Saraperos de Saltillo of the Mexican League. He previously played in MLB for the Houston Astros, Washington Nationals, Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, and Baltimore Orioles. Professional career. Houston Astros. Abad began his professional career in 2006, pitching for the Dominican Summer Astros. That year, he went 5–2 with a 1.32 ERA in 15 games (11 games started). He also struck out 64 batters in 61 innings. He split 2007 between the Greeneville Astros (17 games, four starts ) and Tri-City ValleyCats (two games), going a combined 6–4 with a 4.25 ERA, with 59 strikeouts in 53 innings. In 2008, he pitched for the Lexington Legends, going 2–7 with a 3.30 ERA in 45 relief appearances, striking out 94 batters in 76 innings. Abad pitched for the Lancaster JetHawks (41 games) and Corpus Christi Hooks (three games, all starts) in 2009, going a combined 4–7 with a 4.00 ERA, striking out 92 batters in 96 innings of work. In 3 seasons with the Astros, Abad went 1–11 with a 5.10 ERA in 88 games while striking out 65  in 84 innings Washington Nationals. On November 22, 2012 he signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals. He was called up to the big leagues when Ryan Mattheus was placed on the disabled list and he posted a 3.35 ERA in 37.2 innings out of the bullpen. On November 20, 2013, he was designated for assignment. Oakland Athletics. On November 25, 2013, the Nationals traded Abad to the Oakland Athletics for minor league outfielder John Wooten. In his first season in Oakland, Abad pitched a career high 69 games with a career low 1.57 ERA in 57.1 innings . Abad regressed the following season, allowing 11 home runs in under 60 innings. The Athletics designated Abad for assignment after the 2015 season, and he later elected free agency. Minnesota Twins. Abad signed a minor league deal with the Minnesota Twins in December 2015. He became an integral part of the Twins' bullpen in 2016. Despite a 1-4 record, Abad had a 2.65 ERA in 39 games for the last place Twins. Boston Red Sox. On August 1, 2016, the Twins traded Abad to the Boston Red Sox for Pat Light. In 2017, Abad appeared in 48 games for  the Red Sox, pitching to a 3.30 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 43.2 innings of work. On November 2, 2017, Abad elected free agency. Philadelphia Phillies. On February 17, 2018, Abad agreed to a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies that included an invitation to spring training. He was released on March 21. New York Mets. He signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets on March 25. On June 7, 2018, Abad was suspended 80 games after testing positive for Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance and was released by the Mets upon the announcement of the  news. Long Island Ducks. On August 3, 2018, Abad signed with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He became a free agent following the 2018 season. San Francisco Giants. On February 16, 2019, Abad signed a minor league deal with the San Francisco Giants. On August 15, the Giants selected Abad's contract. He posted an ERA of 4.15 in 21 games. Second stint with Washington Nationals. On December 18, 2019, Abad returned to the Washington Nationals, signing a minor league deal. He was released on July 17, 2020. New York Yankees. On July  24, 2020, Abad signed with the New York Yankees organization. He became a free agent on November 2, 2020. Baltimore Orioles. On December 16, 2020, Abad signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles organization. After the 2020 season, he played for Toros del Este of the Dominican Professional Baseball League(LIDOM). He has also played for Dominican Republic in the 2021 Caribbean Series. After posting a 4.26 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 26 appearances for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides, the Orioles selected Abad's contract on August 15, 2021. Saraperos de Saltillo. On March 23, 2022, Abad signed  with the Saraperos de Saltillo of the Mexican League. Pitching style. Abad features a four-seam fastball (94–97 mph), a sinker (92–95 mph), a curveball (78–83 mph), and a changeup (75–79 mph). He tends to use the sinker and changeup more against right-handed hitters, and his four-seamer and curveball more against left-handed hitters. He also occasionally throws an eephus pitch, around 55 mph.