Josh Lueke

Joshua William Lueke (; born December 5, 1984) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.

Baseball career

Amateur career Lueke attended Scott High School in Covington, Kentucky, and was a pitcher and middle infielder on the school's baseball team. He began playing college baseball at St. Catharine College, growing six inches before his freshman year. He transferred to play for the Northern Kentucky Norse.

On April 3, 2011, Lueke made his major league debut for the Mariners against the Oakland Athletics. He threw of an inning, giving up four runs on two hits and two walks, recording both outs via strikeout. He pitched in 25 games in his rookie season, with a 1–1 record and 6.06 earned run average (ERA).

On March 16, 2013, the Rays optioned Lueke to their Triple-A team, the Durham Bulls. On May 10, Lueke was recalled to join the Rays. He pitched 1 innings in his season debut against the San Diego Padres, striking out two. Lueke was recalled by the Rays on September 1.

Lueke was designated for assignment on June 7, 2014. He cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A on June 9.

Foreign and independent leagues On February 4, 2015, Lueke signed with the Delfines del Carmen of the Mexican Baseball League.

Lueke played with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball in 2016 and 2017.

On February 26, 2019, Lueke was traded to the Pericos de Puebla. He was released on May 22. On May 27, Lueke signed with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League. On June 27, his contract was purchased by the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League.

Lueke did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Mexican League season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021, Lueke posted a 2.17 ERA and earned 12 saves for Yucatán, operating as the team's closer. The Algodoneros released Lueke on September 23. He finished with the second-most saves in the league for the season, with 22. In August, Lueke informed Algodoneros general manager Francisco "Chipper" Méndez that he would retire following the winter league season of the Mexican Pacific League. Lueke signed with the Charros de Jalisco on August 2. He also pitched for Jalisco in the 2023–24 season. An additional 20 days were discounted due to good behavior, and Lueke received three years of felony probation.

After Lueke was traded to Seattle, Mariners president Chuck Armstrong denied having any knowledge of Lueke's criminal past, and stated if he had known, he would have stopped the deal with Texas. Mariners pitching coach Rick Adair later told reporters that he had informed Zduriencik of Lueke's legal troubles, and that Rangers GM Jon Daniels had made a standing offer to take Lueke back on the night of the trade. Adair had been the Rangers minor league pitching coordinator in 2008, when Lueke was charged.

At the end of his probation, Lueke said the incident was a "freak accident kind of thing" and that he did not worry about what other people would think.