Just a one day after right-handed pitcher Gustavo Martinez left Rimini to join Parma, another player makes the same trip, but the other way around. Third baseman Jhonny Carvajal is going to play for Telemarket this year, his fifth different Italian Baseball League team since 2004. According to the report on Baseball.it Pirates manager Mauro Mazzotti chose the 36-year-old Venezuelan because he knows the league and already has confirmed that he is one of the best hitters in the league.
Carvajal got signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent in 1992. One year later he made his pro debut. He later also played in the farm systems of the Montreal Expos (1995-2000), Arizona Diamondbacks (2000, 2003) and the San Francisco Giants (2001, 2002). He reached Triple-A, but never got a chance to play in the big leagues. During eleven minor league seasons he had a batting average of .259 (OBP .324/SLG .336).
In 2004 Montepaschi Grosseto signed Carvajal and his European career began. He played two seasons with the Orioles before joining De Angelis Godo in 2006. In 2007 he left the Italian Baseball League for one year, joining San Inazio Bilbao in the Spanish Division de Honor. The past two seasons he was back in the IBL playing for the Rangers Redipuglia and Cariparma. In 251 IBL games he is batting .317 (OBP .376/SLG .458) with 20 homeruns, 169 runs and 179 RBI.
Minor League Stats Jhonny Carvajal
Photo: © Oldman Pictures/FIBS