Emilio Pagán

Emilio Enrique Pagán

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 210 lb.
• School Gardner-Webb University, Belmont Abbey College
• High School J.L. Mann Academy
• Debut May 3, 2017

• Born May 7, 1991 in Simpsonville, SC USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Emilio Pagán made his major league debut in 2017.

He was 2-2 with a 8.44 ERA as a college freshman at Gardner-Webb University and 4-4 with a save and a 4.54 ERA as a sophomore. Transferring to Belmont Abbey College, he pitched 21 1/3 shutout innings as a junior in 2012 and was 1-0 with 13 saves. He also hit .292/.387/.411 and stole 18 bases in 21 tries. He fell to 1-5 with four saves and a 4.50 ERA as a senior while batting .287/.391/.483 with 15 steals in 16 tries and 40 runs in 43 games. He was picked by the Seattle Mariners in the tenth round of the 2013 amateur draft. The scout was Devitt Moore. He was the highest pick in school annals to that point; he was 297th overall in the draft, eight ahead of Alex Castellanos (2006 draft).

The right-hander started his pro career with 20 1/3 shutout innings for the Pulaski Mariners (1-0, 12 Sv, 9 H, 5 BB, 27 K in 20 1/3 IP) and added two more zeroes for the Everett AquaSox before allowing four runs (three earned) in his last four innings for Everett. He still had a 1.03 ERA for his first pro summer. He led the Appalachian League in saves, one ahead of Gonzalo Sanudo. He was named the Appy League All-Star relief pitcher. He went 2-3 with 16 saves and a 2.89 ERA for the Clinton Lumber Kings, with a 1.02 WHIP and 62 whiffs in 56 innings. He led Mariners farmhands in saves (by four) and tied Griffin Murphy for fifth in the Midwest League in that department. In the winter, he was 2-0 with a 2.19 ERA for the Puerto Rican League's Gigantes de Carolina.

The South Carolina native struck out 10.11 per 9 innings and allowed a .218 average for the 2015 Bakersfield Blaze (3-8, 8 Sv, 2.53). He made the Puerto Rican national team for the 2015 Premier 12. In his debut, he relieved Fernando González with a 6-1 lead in the ninth against Italy and struck out Erick Epifano and Alessandro Vaglio, walked Mario Chiarini and then K'd Alberto Mineo to end it. He pitched a 1-2-3 ninth against Cuba but in the tenth (when two runners started aboard thanks to the Schiller Rule), he allowed a fly and a force to score Yordan Manduley in taking the loss without allowing a hit or walk. He worked 3 1/3 shutout innings in an extra-inning Puerto Rican win over Taiwan, allowing his only hit and second walk of the tourney while whiffing three more. He finished 6th in the event in ERA; Shohei Otani, Scott Diamond, Miguel Lahera, Jared Mortensen and Chia-Hao Sung all worked more innings while also having 0.00 ERAs.

Emilio started 2016 excellently with the Jackson Generals (4-1, 9 Sv, 1.17 in 18 G; 45 K in 30 2/3 IP) and moved up to the Tacoma Rainiers (1-2, Sv, 3.67, 39 K in 34 1/3 IP). For the year, he allowed a .192 average and struck out an impressive 11.63 per 9 innings. In the fall, he was 0-1 with a save and a 6.55 ERA for the Peoria Javelinas. He then joined Puerto Rico for the 2017 World Baseball Classic. He made his debut with Seattle in May of 2017 and pitched 34 times in the majors, all in relief. He had started the season with Tacoma, and in 23 games in AAA, split over various stints, he went 2-1, 2.56 with 5 saves. In the big leagues, his record was 2-3, 3.22 with 56 strikeouts in 50 1/3 innings. After the season, on November 15th, he was traded to the Oakland Athletics, along with teenage minor league SS Alexander Campos, in return for IF Ryon Healy.

Emilio pitched 55 times for Oakland in 2018, going 3-2, 4.35 in 62 innings while striking out 63 batters. The A's made it to the Wild Card Game that season, but he did not see any postseason action. On December 21st, he was sent to the Tampa Bay Rays as part of a complex three-team trade that landed the A's IF Jurickson Profar from the Texas Rangers. He had a very good season with Tampa in 2019 after starting the year in AAA, going 4-2, 2.31 with a team-leading 20 saves in 66 appearances. He struck out 96 batters while walking just 13 in 70 innings. The Rays made it to the Wild Card Game and this time he pitched against his former team the Athletics, retiring both batters he faced. In the Division Series against the Houston Astros, he gave up 3 runs in 2 1/3 innings over 3 appearances.

On February 8, 2020, he was traded to the San Diego Padres in return for OF Manuel Margot and prospect Logan Driscoll. He spent two full seasons in San Diego, although the first one was limited to 60 games by the COVID-19 pandemic. He appeared in 22 games during the regular season, going 0-1, 4.50 with 2 saves, then saw action in the postseason. He was the winner in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series against the St. Louis Cardinals on October 1st as he pitched in all three games for a total of three innings, not allowing a run. He then made two more appearances in the Division Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, once again pitching a scoreless inning each time. In 2021, he made 67 appearances, going 4-3, 4.83. He struck out 69 batters in 63 1/3 innings but the Padres had a disappointing season, missing the postseason after being early favorites to go far.

On April 7, 2022, just before Opening Day, he was traded to the Minnesota Twins alongside SP Chris Paddack in return for P Taylor Rogers and OF Brent Rooker.

Related Sites

• Emilio Pagan on mlb.com
• BR Register page