Chris Flexen


Christopher Flexen is an American professional baseball pitcher who plays for the Doosan Bears of the KBO League. He has played in Major League Baseball for the New York Mets.

Amateur career

Flexen attended Newark Memorial High School in Newark, California where he was the quarterback of the school's football team and made the varsity baseball team as a freshman. His outstanding ability in two sports led to him earning his nickname Chris "Flex” Flexen. Flexen initially committed to play college baseball for the Arizona State Sun Devils but was drafted in the 14th round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft by the New York Mets and was lured away from his commitment by a $375,000 signing bonus.

Professional career

New York Mets

Flexen spent 2012 with the Kingsport Mets, where he posted a 1–3 win–loss record with a 5.63 earned run average in seven games. Flexen returned to Kingsport for the 2013 season, where he was 8–1 with a 2.09 ERA in 11 starts. In 2014, Flexen played for the Savannah Sand Gnats, where he was 3–5 with a 4.83 ERA in 13 starts. Flexen underwent Tommy John surgery in 2014. Flexen spent 2015 with Savannah, the Brooklyn Cyclones, and the GCL Mets, where he posted a combined 2.42 ERA in 12 games between the three clubs. In 2016, he pitched for the St. Lucie Mets where he was 10–9 with a 3.56 ERA in 25 starts. The Mets added him to their 40-man roster after the 2016 season. Flexen started 2017 with St. Lucie, and after posting a 2.13 ERA there while striking out over a batter per inning in 3 starts, he was called up to the Binghamton Rumble Ponies on May 31.
Flexen made his MLB debut on July 27, 2017 against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. He gave up 4 runs on 5 hits in the start. He also became the fifth Mets player in franchise history to give up a home run to the first batter he faced in the Major Leagues after allowing one to Manuel Margot on only his third pitch. On August 8, 2017, Flexen recorded his first Major League win against the Texas Rangers at Citi Field, pitching 5.1 innings, allowing 3 earned runs and striking out 4 batters.
MLB.com ranked Flexen as New York's ninth-best prospect going into the 2018 season. On May 19, Flexen, who started the season in the Pacific Coast League, was promoted to the Mets. He made only four appearances for the big league club, including one start, struggling to a 12.79 ERA and 3.16 WHIP over those outings. He underwent knee surgery in early August, ending his 2018 season.

Doosan Bears

Flexen was designated for assignment on December 6, 2019, and on the next day, it was announced that Flexen signed a one year contract with KBO's Doosan Bears, the 2019 Korean Series Champion.