Michel Otañez

Michel Otañez

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 218 lb.

• Debut June 10, 2024

• Born July 3, 1997 in Villa La Mata, Sanchez Ramirez D.R.

BR page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Michel Otañez was confronted with an unusual situation during his major league debut for the Oakland Athletics against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on June 10, 2024. He was brought into the game with the bases loaded in the 7th inning, then made three pitches to Donovan Solano before the lights suddenly went out in the ballpark. It took three minutes to restore them, then when he resumed pitching, he walked Solano to force in a run. He then gave up a single to Jackson Merrill and a sacrifice fly to Ha-Seong Kim before retiring Luis Campusano to end the inning. The A's lost the game, 6-1, but had already been down, 3-1, before he came into the game.

He was originally signed by the New York Mets and scout Marciano Alvarez as an amateur international free agent on July 2, 2016 and eventually reached AAA with the team after undergoing Tommy John surgery late in 2016 and missing all of the 2017 season as a result. A free agent following the 2022 season, he signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks and split the year between the AA Amarillo Sod Poodles and AAA Reno Aces, going a combined 5-2, 6.08 in 32 games. In December of 2023, he was signed by Oakland and began the 2024 season with the AAA Las Vegas Aviators. He was 4-0, 3.99 in 22 games when he was called up to the majors for the first time.

Further Reading

• Shaun O'Neill: "A's rookie has lights-out debut as Petco Park briefly goes dark", mlb.com, June 11, 2024. [1]

Related Sites

• Michel Otanez on mlb.com