Rafael Dolis


Rafael Jose Dolis Hernandez is a Dominican Republic professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball. He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs, and in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Hanshin Tigers.

Professional career

Chicago Cubs

He began his professional career in 2006 pitching for the AZL Cubs, going 0–2 with an 8.28 ERA in 13 games. In 25 innings of work, he struck out 33 batters. He pitched for the Peoria Chiefs in 2007, going 3–1 with a 1.80 ERA in six starts. After not pitching in 2008, Dolis pitched for the Daytona Cubs in 2009, going 3–9 with a 3.79 ERA in 27 games.
He began 2010 with the Daytona Cubs. He made the Chicago Cubs opening day roster in 2012, but was demoted to the Cubs' Triple-A Iowa Cubs in May 2012 after compiling an MLB record of 2-4 with an ERA of 4.73.
Dolis was outrighted off the Cubs roster on October 9, 2013.

San Francisco Giants

Dolis signed a minor league deal with the San Francisco Giants in December 2013. On May 26, 2014, Dolis was released by the Giants.

Detroit Tigers

On December 5, 2014, Dolis signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers. He elected free agency on November 6, 2015. During the 2015 season, Dolis pitched in 43 games out of the bullpen and posted a 7–5 record with one save, a 4.61 ERA and 54 strikeouts for the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens.
On December 8, 2015, Dolis re-signed with the Tigers on a minor league contract with an invite to spring training. However, he was released on January 15 to pursue a contract with the Hanshin Tigers.

Hanshin Tigers

Dolis signed with the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball for the 2016 season. He pitched 34 innings of 2.12 ERA ball for the Tigers in 2016. In 2017, Dolis pitched 63 innings for the Tigers with a 2.71 ERA. In 2018, Dolis pitched to a 2.85 ERA in 53 innings. In 2019, his last year with the Tigers, he had a 2.11 ERA in 55 innings of work. In his four years with the Tigers, Dolis had a 13–18 record, 2.49 ERA, 96 saves, and 227 strikeouts in 206 innings. On December 2, 2019, he became a free agent.

Toronto Blue Jays

On February 8, 2020, Dolis signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. His contract includes a club option for the 2021 season.
On July 24, 2020, Dolis made his Blue Jays debut.