Jaret Wright

Infobox MLB player


width = 150
name=Jaret Wright

position=Starting pitcher
team=Free Agent
number=--
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1975|12|29
debutdate=June 24
debutyear=1997
debutteam=Cleveland Indians
statyear=2007
stat2label=Win-Loss
stat2value=68-60
stat1label=Earned run average
stat1value=5.09
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=694
teams=
*Cleveland Indians (by|1997-by|2002)
*San Diego Padres (by|2003)
*Atlanta Braves (by|2003-by|2004)
*New York Yankees (by|2005-by|2006)
*Baltimore Orioles (by|2007) Jaret Samuel Wright (born December 29, 1975 in Anaheim, California) is a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who is currently a free agent. He is the son of former major league pitcher Clyde Wright. He attended Katella High School.

As a youngster with the Cleveland Indians, Wright threw a two-seam fastball that topped out at 98 MPH, along with a hard curveball and a changeup. Currently, after battling shoulder injuries, his fastball tops out in the low 90s.

Wright made his major league debut in by|1997 with the Indians and was an instant success, going 8-3 with a 4.38 ERA in 16 starts and pitching masterfully in the post-season that year at the age of 21. Wright left game 7 of the 1997 World Series after 6 1/3 innings with a 2-1 lead, however the Indians would lose in 11 innings. He would follow that up with a .500 season (12-12 with a 4.72 ERA) in by|1998. He never got the chance to reach his potential in Cleveland due to a chronic shoulder injury that would first crop up in by|1999, when he went 8-10 with a 6.06 ERA in 26 starts, and would later require two surgeries to repair, costing him parts of the following three seasons.

After going 2-3 with a 15.71 ERA in by|2002, the Indians decided not to re-sign him and Wright became a free agent. He signed with the San Diego Padres in early by|2003. He did not fare well in San Diego, going 1-5 with an 8.73 ERA in 39 games, all in relief. He was traded to the Atlanta Braves in August. He was unscored upon in all but one his 11 appearances with the Braves, going 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA, and was told that he was going to be made a starting pitcher again for the next season.

Wright started by|2004 in the minors to build up arm strength, but was called up by the Braves when it was discovered pitcher Paul Byrd needed more time to rehab his arm (he had missed the entire 2003 season due to Tommy John surgery). Wright became the Braves best pitcher, going 15-8 with a 3.28 ERA in 32 starts that season while amassing 159 strikeouts in 186.1 innings.

On December 7, 2004, Wright signed a three-year, US$21 million deal with the New York Yankees.

On November 12, by|2006, the Yankees traded Wright to the Baltimore Orioles for Chris Britton and cash considerations. The Orioles were responsible for paying only $3 million of the $7 million left on Wright's contract. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2658959 ESPN - Wright move? O's acquire righty from Yankees - MLB ] ]

Wright's shoulder problems returned in the by|2007 season and caused him to spend time on the disabled list twice; he did make three starts in April, each five innings or less, but lost all three of them and accumulated a 6.97 ERA. The Orioles reported that Wright's velocity was also down. Wright had started a rehab assignment in September and after 3 games he decided to go home ending the rest of the season and maybe his career. On October 1, 2007, the Orioles released Wright.

On January 23, by|2008, Wright signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates, which included an invite to spring training. [ [http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=341531 SportingNews.com - Your expert source for MLB Baseball stats, scores, standings, blogs and fantasy news from MLB Baseball columnists ] ] At the end of spring training, he declined his assignment to the minor leagues and elected to become a free agent.

ee also

* List of second generation MLB players

References

External links

*Baseballstats |mlb=124605 |espn=3678 |br=w/wrighja02 |fangraphs=415 |cube=W/jaret-wright
* [http://www.tireball.com/behindthedugout/profiles/jaret-wright/ Jaret Wright: Behind the Dugout]