Diego Echeverría

Diego Esteban Echeverria

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 190 lb.

• Born January 1, 1985 in Dolores, Buenos Aires Argentina

BR register page

Biographical Information

Diego Echeverria was one of the first Argentinians to play minor league baseball in the USA. A knuckleballer, he signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in July 2006. In 2007, he went 4-8 with a 7.10 ERA and 1.67 WHIP for the Hudson Valley Renegades. He led the New York-Penn League in runs allowed (58) and earned runs allowed (51) and was one shy of the lead in losses. In 2008, he moved to the bullpen and improved to 4-1, 4.48 with a save in 17 outings (6 starts).

Echeverria bombed with the Bowling Green Hot Rods in 2009 at 3-2, 8.01. In 60 2/3 innings, he walked 38 and hit 14. It was his last season in the minors. Diego pitched for the Argentinian national team in the 2010 Pan American Games Qualifying Tournament, taking losses against Venezuela and Nicaragua as their #2 starter after Federico Tanco.

He was with Argentina for the 2011 South American Championship and 2012 South American Championship, when they won Gold Medals. He played in the 2015 South American Championship. In the 2016 South American Championship, he lost a duel with Randy Consuegra of Colombia, allowing two hits, two walks and three runs (only one earned) in six before Mauro Schiavoni relieved. For the round-robin phase, his .100 opponent average tied Murilo Gouvea for 4th. In the semifinals, he was not as sharp against Colombia (7 H, 5 BB, 4 R, 4 K in 6 IP) but left with a 6-4 lead, relieved by Tanco, and Argentina advanced to the finals, where they fell short.

He excelled in the 2018 South American Championship, going 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA and 14 K in 13 innings (7 H, 7 BB). In the Gold Medal Game, he faced defending champion Brazil and went the distance, scattering three hits and fanning eight. He allowed one run, overcoming five walks, to help Argentina qualify for the 2019 Pan American Games (their first time qualifying in baseball for the Pan American Games other than the auto-qualifying as hosts). He led the 2018 South American Championship in IP (3 ahead of Bogdan Leyton) and strikeouts (one ahead of Igor Kimura, his opponent in the finale) and was 3rd in ERA (behind 0.00s by Federico Schultze and José Flores). He was named the MVP.

In the 2019 Pan American Games, he lost to Cuba and Freddy Asiel Álvarez. While he allowed four runs in a third of an inning, he did not have the event's worst ERA; Kevin Yamamoto was charged with six earned runs in a third of an inning. He allowed two unearned runs in four innings in the 2022 South American Championship, beating Peru and Matias Miyagusuku and saving Federico Robles' win over Peru in the semifinals. He tied Juan Casas and Javier Wong for the event lead in games pitched (3), pacing the Silver Medalists. He and Igor Januário registered the event's only saves.

The veteran was back on the hill for Argentina in the 2022 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers, their first World Baseball Classic qualifiers. His lone outing came in the opener against Pakistan. Relieving Eric Ma with a 7-2 lead, he retired Zan Von Schlegell but Muhammad Hussain, Faqir Hussain and Umair Imdad Bhatti all singled to score one run. He struck out Shan Sundu but a passed ball made it 7-4. After Iyad Ansari singled to bring up the potential tying run, he was replaced by Franco Pérez.

Sources

• 2008 Baseball Almanac
• 2008 Rays Media Guide
• 2016 South American Championship Final Report
• Argentinian Baseball Federation
• 2019 Pan American Games site
• 2022 South American Championship
• WBC Qualifiers