Kevin Shackelford

Kevin Russell Shackelford (born April 7, 1989) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.

College Shackelford attended Marshall University, where he played college baseball for the Marshall Thundering Herd. He played as a catcher for his first two seasons at Marshall, batting .095/.156/.119 in 2008, and hitting .226/.280/.321 in 2009. He then became a pitcher. In 2010 he was 1–1 with a 7.50 ERA in 19 games. He signed and made his professional debut with the AZL Brewers of the Arizona League in 2010, and went 1–2 with a 5.40 ERA. The next season for the Helena Brewers in the Advanced Rookie Pioneer League, he was 3–5 with a 4.15 ERA. On November 20, 2013, the Brewers added Shackelford to their 40-man roster. Shackelford was assigned to Huntsville to begin the 2014 season. He was designated for assignment on July 17, 2014, to make room on the 40-man roster for Irving Falu, without having appeared in a major league game for Milwaukee. He was outrighted to Huntsville on July 19.

Cincinnati Reds After the 2014 season, the Brewers traded Shackelford alongside Barrett Astin to the Cincinnati Reds to complete an August 31 trade for Jonathan Broxton. In 2015, Shackelford spent the year with the Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos, logging a 2–4 record and 3.72 ERA in 35 appearances. In 2016, he split the season between Pensacola and the Triple-A Louisville Bats, accumulating a 2–2 record and 2.03 ERA in 35 games between the two teams. Shackelford elected free agency following the season on November 7, 2016. On November 21, Shackelford re–signed with the Reds organization on a new minor league contract. He was assigned to Louisville to begin the 2017 season.

The Reds promoted Shackelford to the major leagues for the first time on June 27, 2017. He made his major league debut on June 29 allowing 4 earned runs in innings against his former team, the Milwaukee Brewers. In 26 games in his rookie year for the Reds, Shackelford was 0–0 with a 4.70 ERA.

Yokohama DeNA BayStars On November 21, 2020, after spending two and a half years out of baseball, Shackelford a one-year contract with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball as a developmental squad player (:ja:育成選手制度 (日本プロ野球)). On April 23, 2021, Shackelford signed a contract with the BayStars as a registered player under management. (:Ja:支配下選手登録) On April 24, he made his NPB debut. He became a free agent following the season.