Kelvin Jiménez

Kelvin Rogelio Jimenez

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 180 lb.

• Debut April 27, 2007
• Final Game September 28, 2008
• Born October 27, 1980 in Sanchez, Samana, D.R.

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Biographical Information

Kelvin Jiménez pitched two seasons in the majors, two seasons in Japan and one season in Korea.

Jiménez debuted with the 2000 GCL Rangers, going 4-7 with a 4.62 ERA. He split 2001 between the GCL Rangers (3-3, 1 Sv, 2.56, .214 opponent average, 51 K and 9 BB in 45 2/3 IP) and the Pulaski Rangers (0-3, 6.28, .352 opponent average). In 2002, Kelvin tied David Mead for the most losses by a Rangers minor leaguer, going 5-10 with a 3.20 ERA for the Savannah Sand Gnats. His K:BB ratio was 3.14:1; he got little support from a team that had the worst record in the South Atlantic League and the second-worst offense.

In 2003, Jiménez was 6-5 with 2 saves and a 4.73 ERA for the Stockton Ports. Moving up to AA in 2004, Kelvin had a 3-5, 4.53 record for the Frisco RoughRiders but led the Rangers farm system with 67 walks as his control went sour.

Jiménez split 2005 between Frisco (3.46 ERA, 2 Sv in 6 games) and the Oklahoma RedHawks (4-6, 3 Sv, 3.63 in 37 games, 5 starts). The right-hander battled injury in 2006 and was limited to 26 relief appearances for Oklahoma (4-2, 1 Sv, 5.21, 40 K in 38 IP, but 24 BB and 40 H). He missed time with a right hand contusion and right elbow strain. In the winter, he had a 1-1, 3.86 record for Estrellas.

Jiménez was signed to a minor league contract by the St. Louis Cardinals and was 1-0 with one save and a 1.59 ERA with 12 K in 11 1/3 ERA for the Memphis Redbirds when he was called up to replace Randy Keisler, who got sent down. He debuted in the majors with a scoreless inning on April 27. He struggled for the 2007 Cardinals with a 7.50 ERA in 34 games and .320 opponent average; one bright side was a 3-0 record. For Memphis on the year, he was 2-3 with a save and a 2.72 ERA in 30 games.

In 2008, Kelvin pitched for Memphis (1-6, 12 Sv, 2.92) and the Cardinals (5.62 in 15 G, 910 opponent OPS). Moving on to the Chicago White Sox chain for 2009, Jimenez was 6-3 with a save and a 4.02 ERA in 40 outings for the Charlotte Knights but had a .307 opponent average.

He signed with the Doosan Bears for 2010. He debuted on March 27 as Doosan's Opening Day starter. He allowed 3 runs in five innings to the defending champion KIA Tigers and got the victory thanks to strong offensive support led by Hyun-soo Kim. He had a fine season, going 14-5 with a 3.32 ERA. He was 4th in the league in ERA behind Hyun-jin Ryu, Kwang-hyun Kim and Ken Kadokura and also tied for 4th in wins with Kadokura and Seung-jin Song.

In 2011, he moved to Japan's Rakuten Golden Eagles. He posted a 3.69 ERA but went 1-7. He improved his ERA to 3.15 in 2012 but his record remained poor at 5-10. He tied Hiroki Yamada, Sho Iwasaki, Manabu Mima and Takahiro Shiomi for third in the PL in losses, behind Takayuki Kishi and Yoshihisa Naruse. He did not play summer ball in 2013-2014.

Jiménez is on the Dominican national team in the 2015 Pan American Games. In his lone start, he went 3 innings (3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 HR, 2 HB, 3 K) against Puerto Rico and left with a 3-3 tie, relieved by a fellow Kelvin, Kelvin Pérez.

Sources: 2001-2007 Baseball Almanacs, MLB.com, Pat Doyle's Professional Baseball Player Database, MILB.com, KBO, NPB