José Rivera (minors07)

José Miguel Rivera Torres
(Chalky)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 170 lb.

• School Interamerican University of Puerto Rico

• Born April 18, 1990 in Bayamón Puerto Rico

BR Register page

Biographical Information

José Rivera has played as high as AAA and has won two Gold Medals with the Puerto Rican national team through 2019.

Rivera was taken by the Colorado Rockies in the 23rd round of the 2009 amateur draft, one round before Joey Wong. The scout was Jorge de Posada. He was a utility infielder for the DSL Rockies (.204/.250/.245 in 14 G) and Casper Ghosts (.175/.293/.190) that summer. Back with Casper in 2010, he hit .200/.250/.233, fielding .968 as their main second baseman. In a third year for the team, he hit somewhat better - .228/.264/.309.

Moving up to the Asheville Tourists, he split second with Taylor Featherston and continued to improve his batting line (.257/.311/.362). He was 1 for 10 that winter for the Santurce Crabbers, with two walks and four runs. Splitting 2013 between Asheville (.272/.359/.417 in 28 G) and the Modesto Nuts (.183/.267/.192 in 36 G), he was a backup at 2B and 3B. He was 3 for 11 for the Gigantes de Carolina in the winter, backing up Ozzie Martínez at short.

Rivera split 2014 between Tulsa (.250/.305/.365 in 37 G) and Modesto (.150/.182/.350 in 7G). He was 1 for 5 for Carolina in 2014-2015. He was one of several second base options in 2015 for the Albuquerque Isotopes, batting .258/.295/.341 in 51 games in his stint in AAA. He debuted for Puerto Rico in the 2015 Premier 12, backing up Alexis Pantoja at the hot corner. He struck out in his first at-bat, against Alessandro Maestri of Italy. His first hit came off Scott Diamond of Canada. He was 4 for 9 on the event with a double, two runs and a RBI while handling six chances error-free. Only Joiset Feliciano had a better average for Puerto Rico. With Carolina that winter, he hit .205/.300/.250, primarily backing up Jeffrey Domínguez at 3B.

He was only 3 for 29 with two doubles and two times plunked for the Gigantes in 2016-2017, making two errors in ten chances. He was not done with Puerto Rico's national team, though. When they won Gold in the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games, he backed up fellow Bayamon native Luis Mateo at 2B and Domínguez at 3B. He again did well for his homeland, again at 4 for 9 (with two walks and two runs) with one error in ten chances. Only Mateo had a better average for Puerto Rico.

In the 2019 Pan American Games, he again backed up Mateo at second. He went 2 for 7 with a run and handled eight chances error-free. He got his hits off Peru's Edgar Paredes and Colombia's Luís Yendis. Puerto Rico won their first baseball Gold in the Pan American Games.