José Siri

José Alexander Siri

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 175 lb.

• Debut September 3, 2021

• Born July 22, 1995 in Sabana Grande de Boya, Monte Plata D.R.

BR page

Biographical Information

José Siri is a speedy outfielder known for defensive prowess. It took him some time to reach the major leagues after being signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an international amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic on September 21, 2012. After failing to make the Show with the Reds, he was claimed twice off waivers in a matter of weeks before the 2020 season, first by the Seattle Mariners and then by the San Francisco Giants - but he played in neither team's organization as the minor league season was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.

José caught his big break when the Houston Astros signed him as a minor league free agent on December 23, 2020. While the Astros had plenty of young talent, including three potential center fielders in Myles Straw, Chas McCormick and Jake Meyers, things would break in José's favor. First, Straw, who held the starting job in the year's first four months, was traded to the Cleveland Indians at the trading deadline in return for reliever Phil Maton. Neither McCormick nor Meyers were able to claim the position as undisputed starters, and the Astros called up Siri in September to serve as a strong defensive back-up. He hit .304 in 21 games, justifying his inclusion on the postseason roster. He went 1 for 8 in the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox, and 1 for 6 in Houston's loss to the Atlanta Braves in the 2021 World Series. Following the season, he played for the Gigantes del Cibao in the Dominican League and made it to the 2022 Caribbean Series where he was named the centerfielder on the tournament's All-Star team. He hit .267 as Cibao made it all the way to the championship game before losing to the Caimanes de Barranquilla, the first Colombian team to ever win the tournament.

He started the 2022 season with Houston as the Astros were still juggling the three potential starting centerfielders. However, he hit only .178 through 48 games and on August 1st, he was included in a three-team trade that also involved the Baltimore Orioles and the Tampa Bay Rays. The fallout from the deal was that he ended up in Tampa, with veteran DH/1B Trey Mancini going from Baltimore to Houston, and a number of prospects moving around to even things out. He played much better after the trade, which was in part motivated by a season-ending injury to CF Kevin Kiermaier, batting .241 in 46 games as the Rays' starter. His OPS+ was still below 100 at 92, but he contributed speed and defense (he was successful on 8 of 9 stolen base attempts with the Rays, and was 14 for 16 for the season) while hitting 8th or 9th. He returned to the postseason and went 1 for 9 with his team's only home run as the Rays were swept in two games by the Cleveland Guardians in the Wild Card Series; in fact the homer was the only run the Rays scored in the two games as they lost 2-1 and 1-0.

He was back as the Rays' principal center fielder in 2023 with Kiermaier having left through free agency, although this being the Rays, he did not start every day, with Josh Lowe and others also seeing time at the position. Still, he was hitting better than ever, with 10 homers through the season's first two months (he had hit a total of 11 in his first two seasons). He finished the season at .222 in 101 games, with 25 homers and 56 RBIs, for an OPS+ of 105. He set personal bests in runs (58), hits (75), homers and RBIs. In the postseason, he went 0 for 3 as the rays were swept at home by the Texas Rangers in the Wild Card Series. He was back as the regular centerfielder for the Rays in 2024, appearing in 130 games and batting .187 with 18 homers and 47 RBIs. His OPS+ fell to 76 as the Rays missed the postseason. His 170 strikeouts were a big negative. Following the season, on November 19th, he was traded to the New York Mets in return for P Eric Orze.

His last name sounds very much like that of a voice-activated application on a popular brand of smart phones, and when combined with the last syllable of his first name, it sounds exactly like the magic words that serve to activate that app. It has happened on a number of occasions during game broadcasts that a mention of his name has triggered a response from one of the announcers' phones, the supposedly "smart" machine thinking that it was being summoned to action by the name.

Notable Achievements

• 20-Home Run Seasons: 1 (2023)

Further Reading

• Theo DeRosa: "Red Sox announcer sets off iPhone Siri while announcing Jose Siri", mlb.com, June 3, 2023. [1]
• Anthony DiComo: "Mets trade for Jose Siri, send reliever Orze to Rays", mlb.com, November 19, 2024. [2]

Related Sites

• Jose Siri on mlb.com