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Francisco Cervelli 

– Coach with Remarkable MLB Career

Born in Valencia, Venezuela, Francisco Cervelli grew up playing youth baseball in the South American country and was signed as an international free agent by Major League Baseball’s (MLB) New York Yankees in 2003. Although he primarily played infield as a teenager, he signed with the Yankees with the intent of playing catcher. He also transitioned from being a switch hitter to solely focusing on right-handed hitting. Francisco Cervelli began his professional career with the Yankees’ Dominican Summer League team and later played for minor league affiliates, including the Staten Island Yankees and Tampa Yankees. 

Francisco Cervelli made his MLB debut with New York in 2008 and was part of the following year’s team that defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2009 World Series. Aside from a short stint with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre during the 2012 season, he spent much of the rest of his career as a player in the big leagues. He backed up Jorge Posada and Russell Martin and was the Yankees starting catcher in 2013. 

 

A Strong History

New York traded Francisco Cervelli to the Pittsburgh Pirates in November 2014. He started 124 games with Pittsburgh during the 2015 season and recorded 3.8 Wins Above Replacement while batting .295. He signed a one-year extension with the team before the 2016 season and agreed to a three-year extension with Pittsburgh later that year.  

 

Francisco Cervelli later played 14 and 16 games with the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins, respectively. He was forced to retire following the 2020 season after the seventh concussion of his MLB career. He hit .268 to go along with 41 home runs and 275 RBI through parts of 13 MLB seasons. He joined the San Diego Padres as a catching instructor prior to the 2022 season.  

Outside of baseball, Cervelli is a fan of the Serie A football club Juventus and is interested in Italian coffee, wine, and cigars.