Víctor Mesa Jr. (born September 8, 2001) is a Cuban professional baseball outfielder for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Miami Marlins.
| Víctor Mesa Jr. | |||||||||||||||
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.jpg) Mesa with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in 2024 | |||||||||||||||
| Tampa Bay Rays – No. 25 | |||||||||||||||
| Outfielder | |||||||||||||||
| Born: September 8, 2001 Havana, Cuba | |||||||||||||||
Bats: Left Throws: Left | |||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
| May 26, 2025, for the Miami Marlins | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics (through June 5, 2026) | |||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .167 | ||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 9 | ||||||||||||||
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Early life
editMesa is the son of Víctor Mesa, a longtime player and manager in the Cuban National Series, and the younger brother of Víctor Víctor Mesa. Mesa and his brother defected from Cuba in 2018.[1]
Career
editMiami Marlins
editAfter they were declared free agents, both Mesa brothers signed with the Marlins on October 22, 2018. Mesa received a $1 million signing bonus.[2]
Mesa made his professional debut in 2019 with the Gulf Coast League Marlins, batting .284/.366/.398 with one home run, 24 runs batted in (RBI), and seven stolen bases over 47 games played. Mesa did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] In 2021, for the Single-A Jupiter Hammerheads, Mesa batted .266/.317/.402 with five home runs, 71 RBI, and 12 stolen bases in 112 games.[4] In 2022, he played in 121 games for the High-A Beloit Snappers, batting .244/.323/.346 with five home runs, 50 RBI, and 10 stolen bases.[5]
On April 18, 2023, while playing for the Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos, Mesa hit for the cycle in a game against the Birmingham Barons.[6] In 123 games for Pensacola, he batted .242/.308/.412 with career-highs in home runs (18), RBI (76), and stolen bases (16).[7]
On November 14, 2023, the Marlins added Mesa to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[8] He was optioned to the Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp to begin the 2024 season.[9] In 83 appearances split between Jupiter and Jacksonville, Mesa slashed .255/.318/.423 with 13 home runs, 51 RBI, and five stolen bases.
The Marlins optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville to begin the 2025 season.[10] On May 26, 2025, Mesa was promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[11] He made his major league debut that day and recorded his first hit the next day.[12] On September 8, his 24th birthday, Mesa hit his first career home run off of Shinnosuke Ogasawara of the Washington Nationals.[13] In 16 appearances for Miami during his rookie campaign, Mesa batted .188/.297/.344 with one home run and six RBI.
On February 3, 2026, Mesa was designated for assignment by the Marlins.[14]
Tampa Bay Rays
editOn February 6, 2026, the Marlins traded Mesa to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Angel Brachi.[15] He was optioned to the Triple-A Durham Bulls to begin the regular season.[16][17]
Personal life
editMesa became a United States citizen in February 2024.[18]
References
edit- ↑ "Longtime manager Victor Mesa's sons leave Cuba". MLB.com.
- ↑ "Mesa brothers sign with Marlins". MiLB.com. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
- ↑ "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- ↑ "Victor Mesa Stats & Scouting Report". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- ↑ "Victor Mesa Jr. - Stats - Batting". fangraphs.com. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- ↑ "Victor Mesa Jr. Hits for Historic Cycle In Series Opener". milb.com. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
- ↑ Jackson, Barry (February 9, 2024). "The twist with Mesa brothers after the Marlins' $6.25 million investment. And new arms". Miami Herald.
- ↑ "Marlins Select Anthony Maldonado, Victor Mesa Jr". MLB Trade Rumors. November 14, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ↑ "Marlins Trim Spring Roster With First Round of Cuts". marlinsbaseball.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2024. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ↑ "Mesa Jr. among Marlins' first spring cuts". mlb.com. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
- ↑ "Marlins place OF Derek Hill on IL and bring up Victor Mesa Jr. from minors". AP News. May 26, 2025. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
- ↑ De Nicola, Christina (May 28, 2025). "Victor Mesa Jr. gets first MLB hit and RBI with Marlins". MLB.com. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
- ↑ De Nicola, Christina (September 9, 2025). "Victor Mesa Jr. hits first homer on 24th birthday". MLB.com. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
- ↑ "Marlins Claim Garrett Acton, Designate Victor Mesa Jr. For Assignment". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
- ↑ "Rays Claim Victor Mesa Jr". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
- ↑ "Rays' Victor Mesa: Sent to minor-league camp". CBS Sports. March 11, 2026. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
- ↑ "Rays Have No Surprises With Recent Spring Training Cuts". si.com. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
- ↑ McPherson, Jordan (February 23, 2024). "Miami Marlins Q&A: Victor Mesa Jr. talks citizenship, baseball and Lionel Messi". Miami Herald.
External links
edit- Career statistics from MLB · ESPN · Baseball Reference · Fangraphs · Baseball Reference (Minors) · Baseball Almanac