Fernando Abad

[William Malone]

Fernando Antonio Abad was born on December 17, 1985 in the Dominican Republic.

He signed with the Houston Astros as an amateur free agent in 2002, and made his Major League debut for them in 2010. Abad pitched three seasons for the Astros, appearing in 88 games and posting a 5.10 ERA. Houston non-tendered him after the 2012 season, and he signed with the Washington Nationals. Abad appeared in 39 games for the Nationals in 2013, pitching to a 3.35 ERA. Washington traded him to the Oakland Athletics after the season.

The Dominican lefty specialist had a career year in 2014 with Oakland, boasting a 1.57 ERA and a 0.855 WHIP across 69 outings. He got Kansas City Royals outfielder Alex Gordon to pop out in the 12th inning of the 2014 AL Wild Card Game. This was the only batter Abad ever faced in the postseason. His strong 2014 was followed up with a 4.15 ERA over 62 games in 2015. Oakland designated him for assignment after the season.

The Minnesota Twins signed Abad to a minor league contract ahead of the 2016 campaign. He wound up breaking camp with the club, and had a nearly perfect month of April. Abad allowed just seven of 37 opposing hitters to reach base against him in the opening month of 2016. The only blemish on his resume was allowing an unearned run on April 27th. When he finally gave up an earned run on May 6th, it was followed up with nine more scoreless outings.

Abad continued to pitch well, and held a 2.65 ERA at the end of July. This was ballooned a bit by allowing three runs in just 0.1 innings on June 18th against the New York Yankees. He earned his first career save on June 22nd against the Philadelphia Phillies. A last place Twins team traded him to the Boston Red Sox for Pat Light, a flame throwing 25-year old who lacked control. Abad ran up a 6.39 ERA in 18 games with the Red Sox, and was left off their playoff roster.

Despite his second half struggles, Boston did bring Abad back in 2017. He had a 3.30 ERA in 48 appearances, and was once again not included on their playoff roster. The New York Mets signed him to a minor league deal in 2018, but quickly released him after the league suspended him 80-games for failing a performance enhancing drug test. Abad bounced around several organizations on minor league deals for the next few seasons, logging 43 games of big league action between 2018 and 2023.

View full player