Juan Padilla: Former Mets Relief Pitcher (2005)
The six-foot right hander eventually made his way to the United States pitching at Jacksonville University for the Dolphins. There he was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 24th round of the 1998 draft.
In 2001 Juan pitched in the minor leagues as a reliever saving 23 games at A ball for Fort Meyers. The next year he saved 29 games at AA New Britian.
MLB Career: In 2003 Padilla was sent to the AL New York club in exchange for former Mets 1986 Champion relief pitcher Jesse Orosco.
Mets Career: For 2005, Padilla was signed by the New York Mets as a free agent.
Padilla finished the year at 3-1 with a save, five holds & a 1.49 ERA. He struck out 17 walking 13 in 24.1 innings in 24 appearances.
Career Ending Surgery: Padilla certainly looked promising for the Mets future, but he soon had arm issues leading to Tommy John surgery which shut him down for the next two seasons.
In 2001 Juan pitched in the minor leagues as a reliever saving 23 games at A ball for Fort Meyers. The next year he saved 29 games at AA New Britian.
MLB Career: In 2003 Padilla was sent to the AL New York club in exchange for former Mets 1986 Champion relief pitcher Jesse Orosco.
In 2004 Padilla debuted in the majors pitching for six games. He was placed on waivers & picked by the Cincinnati Reds where he pitched in 12 games. On September 30th, Padilla got his first career win coming against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
He began the year at AAA Norfolk going 3-2 with 11 saves posting a 1.42 ERA, before being brought up to the Mets in July. On July 17th, Padilla made his Mets debut at Shea Stadium pitching a scoreless 7th inning in a Mets win over the Atlanta Braves.
First Career Save: On July 20th at Shea Stadium, in his second outing he earned a save pitching 1.1 innings in a 7-3 win over the Padres.
Padilla did not allow a run in his first five appearances & kept his ERA below one thru his first eight games.
First Career Win: On August 30th, he got his first win pitching a scoreless 8th inning against the Phillies. In the bottom of the 8th Ramon Castros three run HR off Ugueth Urbina won the game.
From September 25th to September 27th, Padilla collected two more wins over three days, when he pitched 3.2 scoreless innings in two appearances. On the 25th he did allow a two-run single to Nick Johnson, but the runs were charged to Kris Benson.
Career Ending Surgery: Padilla certainly looked promising for the Mets future, but he soon had arm issues leading to Tommy John surgery which shut him down for the next two seasons.
In 2008 he would be granted free agency, get resigned & released again by the team.
Retirement: In 2009 Padilla pitched in the Atlantic league in New Hampshire. In 2010 he was a reliever & pitching coach for the Pittsfield Colonials. In 2011 he played for the Bridgeport Blue Fish.