Webster Rivas

Webster Julian Rivas

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 218 lb.

• Debut May 28, 2021

• Born August 8, 1990 in Nagua, Maria Trinidad Sanchez D.R.

BR page

Biographical Information

Webster Rivas played for the Dominican national team before reaching the majors at age 30 in 2021.

Rivas was signed by Los Angeles Dodgers scout Ezequiel Sepulveda in May 2009. He hit .246/.307/.355 with 16 doubles in 59 games for the 2010 DSL Dodgers, fielding .993 at 1B. He tied Jorge Bonifacio, Yeicok Calderon and Isaias Tejeda for 9th in the Dominican Summer League in two-baggers. In 2011, he was with the same club, primarily catching now. He threw out 49% of those who tried to steal while batting .279/.367/.384. He saw very little time with the 2012 AZL Dodgers (.208/.296/.208 in 7 G). He split 2013 between the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (.213/.265/.292 in 26 G) and Great Lakes Loons (.262/.313/.295 in 20 G). He made his Dominican Winter League debut with the 2013-2014 Gigantes del Cibao, going 2 for 2 while backing up Omir Santos and Carlos Paulino at catcher.

With the 2014 Loons, he hit .254/.303/.370 as the 3rd-string catcher and threw out 48%. He hit .350/.381/.350 for Cibao in six games in 2014-2015, backing up Paulino and Adrian Nieto. He bounced around the next summer, with stints with Great Lakes (4 for 12, 2B, HR), Rancho Cucamonga (.258/.297/.348 in 54 G), the Tulsa Drillers (.273/.333/.273 in 13 G) and Oklahoma City Dodgers (2 for 3 in his AAA debut). He again had a great winter in limited time (9 G, .381/.409/.429). In 2016, he moved to the Los Angeles Angels chain and played for the Burlington Bees (.221/.281/.302 in 26 G), Inland Empire 66ers (2 for 14, BB) and Salt Lake Bees (2 for 7). He had his first bad winter, going 1 for 13 for the Gigantes. Despite that, he was an addition to the Tigres del Licey for the 2017 Caribbean Series, going 2 for 2 with a double.

Signed by San Diego Padres scout Martin Jose , he split the summer between the San Antonio Missions (.287/.342/.390 in 39 G) and Fort Wayne TinCaps (.232/.321/.319 in 23 G; he also pitched 3 games, with a 3.86 ERA). He was 1 for 14 with a walk that winter for the Gigantes, then backed up Austin Allen with the 2018 Missions, hitting .276/.319/.373 in 57 games. He was only 2 for 25 for the 2018-2019 Gigantes as the main backup to Paulino.

Rivas then played for the Dominican team that won the 2019 Pan American Games Qualifier, backing up Charlie Valerio. In his only game, he started against Brazil and went 0 for 2 against Felipe Natel before Valerio replaced him. He split 2019 between the El Paso Chihuahuas (.296/.405/.488 in 39 G) and Amarillo Sod Poodles (.264/.328/.340 in 30 G). He hit .204/.264/.224 in a rough winter for the Gigantes, backing up Kade Scivicque.

He did not play that summer as the minor league season was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the winter of 2020-2021, he was 2 for 13 with the Gigantes. He started 2021 with El Paso, batting .241/.343/.424 in 10 games. He was called up to The Show at age 30 when Austin Nola was injured. His first MLB at-bat on May 28th, he faced Framber Valdéz of the Houston Astros and reached on an error by Carlos Correa. He was 0 for 3 with a walk when Victor Caratini replaced him in the 10th.

Related Sites

• Webster Rivas on mlb.com
• BR Register page