Juan Nicasio

Juan Ramón Nicasio (born August 31, 1986) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, and Texas Rangers. Nicasio made his major league debut in 2011. In 2017, he led the National League (NL) in appearances.

Early life Nicasio was born in San Francisco de Macorís, Dominican Republic, and grew up in nearby Arenoso, where his father, Francisco, farmed coffee and rice. His mother is Aurelia Nicasio and he has one sister, Adria.

Career

Colorado Rockies

Minor leagues Nicasio signed with the Colorado Rockies at age 19, as a non-drafted free agent on August 21, 2006. With the Rookie Casper Rockies in 2007, Nicasio went 0–3 with a 4.36 ERA in 13 games (eight starts), with 33 strikeouts in 43.1 innings. Baseball America named him the 16th-best Rockies prospect.

In 2011, pitching for the Double-A Tulsa Drillers before being called up to the major leagues, Nicasio was a mid-season Texas League All-Star, the Texas League Pitcher of the Week for May 1, and the Rockies organizational Pitcher of the Month for April. Nicasio made his debut that day, facing the St. Louis Cardinals, pitching seven innings while giving up one unearned run. The Rockies won 15–4, giving Nicasio his first major league win. His first major league strikeout was of Jaime García.

On August 5, 2011, while pitching in a game against the Washington Nationals, Nicasio was struck in the head by a line drive off the bat of Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond. Nicasio lost his balance, and fractured a vertebra in his neck when he fell to the ground. During emergency surgery, doctors inserted pins into the fractured C-1 vertebra and secured a metal plate to the back of his neck. His recuperation was remarkably quick. Eleven days after the incident, he visited the dugout at Coors Field wearing a neck brace, and came out on the field to a standing ovation.

Nicasio returned to the mound for the Rockies in April 2012 and that season he made a total of 11 appearances, with a 2–3 record and 5.28 ERA, and 54 strikeouts in 58 innings. On June 1, he injured his left knee while fielding a ground ball. After several attempts to drain the fluid in the knee failed, he underwent arthroscopic surgery in July and missed the remainder of the season.

Nicasio came back in 2013 and made 31 starts. He had a 9–9 record and 5.14 ERA, and 119 strikeouts in innings.

On November 20, 2014, Nicasio was designated for assignment by the Rockies.

Los Angeles Dodgers On November 24, 2014, Nicasio was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. On December 16, minor league outfielder Noel Cuevas was sent to the Rockies to complete the trade. Nicasio signed a one-year, $2.3 million contract with the Dodgers on January 16, 2015, avoiding salary arbitration.

Nicasio pitched out of the bullpen for the Dodgers during the 2015 season, though he made a spot start on June 2. In 53 appearances, he was 1–3 with one save and a 3.86 ERA, and 65 strikeouts in innings, averaging 10 strikeouts per 9 innings. On December 2, 2015, Nicasio was non–tendered by the Dodgers and became a free agent.

Pittsburgh Pirates On December 10, 2015, Nicasio signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Following a stellar 2016 spring training that saw him strike out 24 batters in 15 innings without conceding a run, as well as displaying excellent fastball velocity, Nicasio made the Pirates rotation to begin the year, beating out veteran Ryan Vogelsong. On July 4, Nicasio became only the 74th player to pitch an immaculate inning in a major-league game. For the 2016 season, he was 10–7 with a 4.50 ERA, and 138 strikeouts in 118 innings, averaging 10.5 strikeouts per 9 innings. The Phillies placed Nicasio on their Major League active roster on September 1. In two appearances for Philadelphia, he recorded one win and one strikeout across scoreless innings. In aggregate in 2017, between the Pirates, Phillies, and Cardinals he led the NL in appearances with 76, as he was 5-5 with six saves, 21 holds (tied for 9th in the league), and a 2.61 ERA, and in innings he gave up 20 walks and had 72 strikeouts. Nicasio received a $500,000 signing bonus, salaries of $7.5 million in 2018 and $9 million in 2019, and could earn an additional $3.5 million annually in performance bonuses for games finished.

In 2018, he was 1-6 with one save and a 6.00 ERA. In 42 innings, he gave up 5 walks and had 53 strikeouts. He was on the disabled list twice in the season, once with right knee effusion and once with right knee inflammation.

In 2019, Nicasio was 2-3 with one save and a 4.75 ERA. In innings, he gave up 21 walks and had 45 strikeouts. He averaged 4.0 walks and 8.6 strikeouts per 9 innings. He became a free agent following the season.