CARLOS MESA | CORNER OUTFIELDER |
 | Born: February 10, 1988 Height: 6′ 2″ Weight: 215 Bats: Right Throws: Right Signed: Int. FA, Pittsburgh Pirates, 2011 How Acquired: Int. FA Country: Cuba Agent: N/A |
WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES |
| No, this isn’t another relative of Jose Mesa. The Pirates signed Carlos after he defected from Cuba. He wasn’t a high-profile defector and may end up as an organizational player. MiLB.com listed him on the original State College roster as a RHP, but he’s an outfielder. He doesn’t have great speed so he’ll be limited to a corner. He does have a good arm. 2011 Mesa was the Spikes’ best hitter, in fact almost their only player who was hitting anything at all, in the early part of the season. He posted an OPS of .990 in July, but got hurt in mid-month. He went just 3-for-25 after he came back, leaving him with a .700 OPS in the end. His plate discipline was something of a warning flag, with one whiff every three ABs. He played strictly in right, but also served as the DH in nearly half his games. It’s hard to tell what you’ve got with a Cuban defector, but Mesa played the season at 23 and had experience in international competition, so it’s probably fair to say he was a little old for short season ball. He hit reasonably well, but his tendency to swing and miss doesn’t bode well. He did not make the West Virginia roster to start the 2012 season, but instead remained in extended spring training. |
STATS |
| Baseball Reference–Minors Fangraphs MiLB.com |
CONTRACT INFORMATION |
| 2012: Minor League Contract |
PLAYER INFORMATION |
| Signing Bonus: N/A MiLB Debut: 2011 MLB Debut: N/A MiLB FA Eligible: 2017 MLB FA Eligible: N/A Rule 5 Eligible: 2014 Added to 40-Man: N/A Options Remaining: 3 MLB Service Time: 0.000 |
TRANSACTIONS |
| 2011: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an international free agent. |
