Jorge Rondón


Jorge Leonardo Rondón Hernandez is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals, Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Orioles, and Pittsburgh Pirates.

Career

St. Louis Cardinals

Jorge Rondón began pitching professionally for the Cardinals when he was 18. From 2006 to 2011, he played on various rookie league and A-level teams. He received his first promotion to the Class AA Springfield Cardinals in 2011. The promotion coincided with increased strikeouts per 9 innings pitched rates. With Palm Beach of the Florida State League that year, he posted a then-professional high of 9.1 K/9 in innings pitched. He yielded a 4.05 earned run average, 29 hits and 13 walks.
Rondón split the 2012 season between Springfield and the Triple-A affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds, posting a 3.49 ERA in 49 innings with 50 strikeouts. On October 30, 2012, the Cardinals added Rondón to the 40-man roster to prevent him from becoming a minor league free agent.
The club optioned him to AAA-Memphis on March 11, 2013. He spent the entire 2013 season at Memphis, appearing in 51 games, pitching 67 innings and allowing a 3.06 ERA. He allowed 72 hits, 37 BB and struck out 42.
The Cardinals recalled Rondón and Eric Fornataro from Memphis on April 17, 2014, when they moved Joe Kelly to the 15-day disabled list. However, he did not appear in a game before being optioned to AAA to clear a roster spot for top prospect Oscar Taveras.

Colorado Rockies

Rondón was claimed off waivers by the Colorado Rockies on November 3, 2014. He was designated for assignment by the Rockies in May 2015.

Baltimore Orioles

On May 10 he was claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Rondón was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates on October 26, 2015. He began the 2016 season with the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, and was promoted to the major leagues on June 19. On June 24, Rondón was designated for assignment.

Chicago White Sox

On December 13, 2016, Rondon signed a minor league deal with the Chicago White Sox. On January 7, 2017, Rondon was released to pursue pitching opportunities in Japan.

Chunichi Dragons

Following his release from the White Sox, he signed with the Chunichi Dragons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.

Return to White Sox

On January 11, 2018, Rondón signed a minor-league contract with the Chicago White Sox. He was released on May 10, 2018.