Lorenzo Barceló

Lorenzo Antonio Barceló

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 230 lb.

• Debut July 22, 2000
• Final Game April 19, 2002
• Born August 10, 1977 in San Pedro de Macoris, San Pedro de Macoris, D.R.

BR page

Biography

Lorenzo Barceló was a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher for the Chicago White Sox from 2000 to 2002. He is a native of the Dominican Republic, and was acquired by the White Sox from the San Francisco Giants in the infamous White Flag Trade. Barceló was once regarded as one of the top prospects in the White Sox organization, but he was undone by a series of injuries that ended his career in 2003. His brother, Orger Barcelo, played in the Atlanta Braves organization in 1990.

The Giants signed Barceló as an amateur free agent in 1994. In three seasons with the Giants Class A affiliates, he won a total of 20 games and amassed 262 strikeouts. Lorenzo was with the Double A Shreveport Captains when the Giants included him in a package of young players sent to the White Sox for Wilson Alvarez, Roberto Hernández, and Danny Darwin on July 31, 1997. He finished that season with the White Sox Double A affiliate, the Birmingham Barons, going 2-1 in 6 starts. Injuries began taking their toll as early as 1998, when he made just 3 starts. He worked his way back in 1999, and made 13 starts between rookie-level AZL White Sox and Double A Birmingham.

Barceló reached the majors in 2000, appearing in 22 games with the White Sox. He went 4-2 with a 3.69 ERA and recorded 26 strikeouts. He pitched in 17 more big league games in 2001, but was sent to the disabled list in June. Barceló made 4 appearances in 2002, and never made it to the majors again. He posted a 6.49 ERA in 20 games with the Giants Triple A affiliate, the Fresno Grizzlies, in 2003.

In 2007, Lorenzo started a comeback by pitching in Taiwan for the Chinatrust Whales of the Chinese Professional Baseball League. He pitched in several independent circuits, spent several years in the Mexican League and made a lone appearance with the Albuquerque Isotopes, the Triple A offering in the Los Angeles Dodgers chain, in 2012. He last pitched with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League in 2018, by which time he was 40 years old.

Eleven years after last pitching in the majors, Barceló was added to the Dominican Republic national team's roster for the 2013 World Baseball Classic as a last-minute replacement for Jose Valverde, who had bowed out of the tournament for personal reasons. He had pitched for the Dominicans in the 2010 Pan American Games Qualifying Tournament, beating Cuba in the finale. He had pitched for the Rojos del Aguila de Veracruz in the Mexican League the previous season.

Related Sites

• BR Minors page