Neil Ramírez

Neil Andrew Ramírez was born on May 25, 1989 in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The Texas Rangers selected him in round one of the 2007 MLB Draft. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs in 2013, and made his Major League debut for them the following season. Ramírez posted a 1.44 ERA with over ten strikeouts per nine innings across 50 relief appearances as a rookie, earning three saves. Shoulder and abdominal injuries limited him to just 14 games in 2015. He struggled early in 2016, and was designated for assignment.

Ramírez was claimed on waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers, but was waived again after making just two appearances. The Minnesota Twins, who were struggling to a franchise worst 103 loss season, claimed him to help eat innings for a struggling bullpen.

His first five outings with the Twins were solid, allowing just two runs with eight strikeouts over 9.2 innings. But things unraveled a bit in his sixth outing for the club, allowing three runs without recording a single out. Ramírez allowed multiple runs in each of his next two appearances after that, and he was designated for assignment. No team claimed him on waivers, and Ramírez was assigned to Triple-A. He posted a 3.10 ERA with 27 strikeouts over 20.2 innings for the Rochester Red Wings down the stretch, and became a free agent after the season.

The San Francisco Giants signed him to a minor league deal, and Ramírez spent the next several seasons in Quad-A limbo. He pitched for the Giants (2017), New York Mets (2017), Cleveland Indians (2018-19) and Toronto Blue Jays (2019). After not pitching between 2020 and 2022, Ramírez spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons with the High Point Rockers of the Atlantic League.