José Mijares

[William Malone]

José Manual Mijares was born on October 29, 1984 in Venezuela. 

The Minnesota Twins signed him as an international free agent in 2002. He made his Major League debut as a September call-up in 2008, allowing just one run and three base runners over 10.1 innings. This included a perfect 1.1 innings of relief work in the 2008 AL Central Tiebreaker Game against the Chicago White Sox, which the Twins lost 1-0.

Baseball America ranked Mijares as the team's fourth best prospect entering 2009. He was optioned to Triple-A after allowing 11 earned runs in 10.0 spring training innings, but the Twins called him back up on April 20th to replace an injured Jesse Crain. Mijares then became a huge part of the Minnesota bullpen, appearing in 71 games that season. He was 2-2 with a 2.34 ERA. Left handed batters hit just .155 with a .480 OPS against him. Mijares was the losing pitcher in game two of the 2009 ALDS, allowing a walk-off home run to New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira in the 11th inning.

He struggled out of the gate in 2010, allowing two home runs in his first appearance of the season. The Twins eventually placed him on the disabled list in mid-April with an elbow strain. This was a big blow for a bullpen that was already missing superstar closer Joe Nathan, who had undergone Tommy John surgery during spring training. Mijares returned about a month later. He finished 2010 going 1-1 with a 3.32 ERA over 47 appearances, which included a second stint on the disabled list in August. Mijares pitched in all three games of the ALDS that fall, allowing no runs and just one base runner. Despite this, the Twins were swept.

Most players on the Twins roster suffered some sort of personal regression in 2011, and Mijares was no exception. He was 0-2 with a 4.49 ERA in 58 games. Minnesota non-tendered him after the season, making Mijares a free agent. He signed with the Kansas City Royals, and had a bounce back season. They traded him to the San Francisco Giants at the deadline. Mijares had a 10.23 postseason ERA across six appearances for San Francisco, but this didn't stop them from winning the World Series.

The Giants brought Mijares back in 2013. He had a 4.22 ERA in 60 relief appearances. This was his final season pitching professionally in the United States. Mijares continued to pitch in the Venezuelan winter league through the 2019-20 winter.

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