Former Mets Catcher: Juan Centeno (2013-2014)

Juan Centeno was born on November 16th 1989 in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. In 2007 the Mets drafted him out of high School in the 32nd round. The five foot nine, catcher Centeno, bats left handed while throwing right handed.

He spent four years at the Mets A ball level between Brooklyn & St. Lucie, not hitting much but showing solid defense. After batting around or under .200 he hit .371 in 32 games (just 89 at bats) with the Cyclones in 2010. He then was pushed up to St. Lucie again even getting to AA Binghamton by the end of the season.

In 2011 he was back at St. Lucie hitting .318. In 2012 he hit .285 at AA Binghamton as the clubs main catcher catching guys like Zack Wheeler & Jenrry Mejia. The next year he was playing in Puerto Rico, Binghamton & at AAA Las Vegas as their main catcher. He hit .305 & tossed out 56% of would be base stealers. With not much power he did not hit any HRs in 67 games.

On September 18th he made his MLB debut catching & batting 8th in a 5-4 win at Citi Field over the San Francisco Giants. In the home 5th he collected his first career hit a single off Matt Cain. In the 9th inning the Mets were down 4-1, Centeno's RBI hit helped the Mets rally in which they won on a walk off hit by Josh Satin. He saw action in four games that year.

In 2014 he got a call up in May & got into six games starting in the subway series. He collected two hits against the Washington Nationals with another two RBI day. He would go back down & return in September where he got one hit in four games, ending the season batting an even .200.

In October 2014 he was placed on waivers & picked up by the Milwaukee Brewers. There he saw action in ten games getting granted free agency & was signed by the Minnesota Twins.

In 2016 he appeared in 55 games behind main backstop All Star Joe Mauer. Centeno batted .261 with 3 HRs & 25 RBIs. In the off season he was signed by the Houston Astros.

In a four year career he is batting.290 (56-237) with 3 HRs 13 doubles & 28 RBIs. In 73 games behind the plate he tossed out just 14% of would be base stealers.

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