Roberto Osuna

Roberto Osuna Quintero Jr. (born February 7, 1995) is a Mexican professional baseball pitcher for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros.

Osuna was signed by the Blue Jays out of Mexico as a 16-year-old. He made his major league debut in 2015 at 20 years old, becoming the youngest pitcher in Blue Jays history and the first player born in 1995 to play in MLB. Osuna was named an All-Star in 2017. In April 2018, he became the youngest pitcher in MLB history to record 100 saves (23 years, 62 days).

A month later, Osuna was arrested for domestic violence and suspended for 75 games by MLB soon after. During his suspension, the Astros acquired him via trade. He led the American League with 38 saves the next season. In 2020, Osuna suffered an elbow injury and the Astros released him after the season. He has played overseas since.

Osuna was born in Juan José Ríos, Sinaloa, Mexico. At age 11 he dropped out of school to pick vegetables to help support his family. When he was 16 years old, the Toronto Blue Jays signed him with a $1.5 million signing bonus.

Osuna made his professional baseball debut with the Diablos Rojos del México of the Mexican League in 2011. In 13 appearances totaling 192⁄3 innings, he pitched to a 0–1 record, 5.49 earned run average (ERA), and 12 strikeouts.

In August 2011, Osuna was acquired by the Blue Jays for $1.5 million. He began the 2012 season with the Bluefield Blue Jays of the Appalachian League, but was promoted to the Vancouver Canadians of the Northwest League after posting a 1–0 record with a 1.50 earned run average in seven appearances (four starts). He made his Canadians debut on July 28, 2012, striking out a franchise-record 13 batters over five innings pitched. In total, Osuna pitched 432⁄3 innings in 2012, and posted a 2–0 record, 2.27 ERA, and 49 strikeouts.

On January 29, 2013, Osuna was ranked 90th on MLB's Top 100 Prospects list. He started the 2013 season with the Class-A Lansing Lugnuts of the Midwest League. On May 9, 2013, it was announced that Osuna had torn his ulnar collateral ligament, an injury that usually requires Tommy John surgery. He met with Dr. James Andrews, and was advised to rest and rehab the injury, rather than undergo surgery. Osuna returned from the disabled list on June 9, and pitched five shutout innings for Lansing. Despite his attempt to rehab his elbow, Osuna underwent Tommy John surgery in late June. On July 26, he was ranked 58th on MLB's revised Top 100 Prospects list, and the number two prospect in the Blue Jays organization.

Osuna made his first rehab appearance since the procedure on July 8, 2014, and pitched one inning for the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays. He was then promoted to the High-A Dunedin Blue Jays and made seven starts before the end of the season, posting a 0–2 record, a 6.55 ERA, and 30 strikeouts in 22 innings pitched. In the 2015 preseason prospect rankings, he was named the number six prospect in the Blue Jays organization by MLB.