American baseball player (born 1987)
Lucas Lester Luetge ( born March 24, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves.
Career.
Amateur.
Luetge attended Bellville High School in Bellville, Texas. He enrolled at San Jacinto College, where he played college baseball for two years, and then transferred to Rice University, where he played college baseball for the Rice Owls.
Milwaukee Brewers.
The Milwaukee Brewers drafted Luetge in the 21st round of the 2008 MLB draft. Luetge spent three and a half seasons with the Brewers minor league affiliates, reaching as high as Double-A with the Huntsville Stars in 2011.
Seattle Mariners.
The Seattle Mariners selected Luetge from the Brewers on December 8, 2011, in the Rule 5 Draft.
On April 7, 2012, Luetge made his MLB debut. On June 8, 2012, he was one of six pitchers that the Mariners used to no-hit the Dodgers. He recorded one out, getting James Loney on a sacrifice bunt. Luetge was the fourth pitcher to throw in the no-hitter after Kevin Millwood and Stephen Pryor were taken out of the game. In his rookie season, Luetge registered a 3.98 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 40.2 innings of work. The next year, Luetge pitched to a 4.86 ERA in 35 appearances, along with only 27 strikeouts in 37.0 innings pitched, while splitting time between Seattle and the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers. Luetge spent 2014 up and down between Tacoma and Seattle as well, recording a 5.00 ERA with seven strikeouts in 9.0 innings pitched for the big league club. On On September 5, 2015, Luetge was outrighted off of the Mariners 40-man roster. At the time, he had only thrown 2.1 innings of scoreless ball on the year, spending the majority of the season in Triple-A. On November 7, 2015, Luetge elected free agency.
Los Angeles Angels.
On November 17, 2015, Luetge signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels organization. On May 22, 2016, Luetge was selected to the Angels' active roster, however he was designated for assignment on May 25 without making an appearance for the big league club. On May 27, he was outrighted to the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees, where he spent the remainder of the season. On October 3, 2016, Luetge elected free agency.
Cincinnati Reds.
On November 25, 2016, Luetge signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds organization. Luetge was assigned to the Triple-A Louisville Bats. On June 1, 2017, the Reds released Luetge.
Baltimore Orioles.
On June 4, 2017, Luetge signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore Orioles organization. He pitched in four games for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides, logging a 4.50 ERA with three strikeouts in 4.0 innings of work. Luetge elected free agency following the season on November 6.
Arizona Diamondbacks.
On February 4, 2019, Luetge signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2019, his 55 games pitched tied for the lead in the minor leagues. After splitting the season with the Double–A Jackson Generals and Triple–A Reno Aces, Luetge elected free agency on November 4.
Oakland Athletics.
On November 25, 2019, Luetge signed a minor league contract, with an invite to major league spring training, with the Oakland Athletics. Luetge did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was added to the Athletics' 60-man player pool for the season, but spent the entire year at the alternate site. Luetge became a free agent on November 2, 2020.
New York Yankees.
Luetge signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees for the 2021 season, receiving a non-roster invitation to spring training. After a strong spring training in which he accrued 18 strikeouts in ;templatestyles src="Fraction/styles.css" / ;10+1⁄3 innings pitched, Luetge was selected to the Yankees' Opening Day roster on March 31. On April 3, 2021, in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Luetge appeared in his first major league game since April 25, 2015. He finished the season with a 2.74 ERA in ;templatestyles src="Fraction/styles.css" / ;72+1⁄3 innings across 57 appearances.
Luetge made the Yankees bullpen for the 2022 season. In 2022 he was 4–4 with a 2.67 ERA. He was designated for assignment on December 21, 2022, following the signing of Tommy Kahnle.
Atlanta Braves.
On December 28, 2022, Luetge was traded to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for minor leaguers Caleb Durbin and Indigo Diaz. On January 13, 2023, Luetge signed a one-year, $1.55 million contract with the Braves, avoiding salary arbitration. Luetge made 9 appearances out of Atlanta's bullpen, but struggled immensely to the tune of a 10.24 ERA with 10 strikeouts in ;templatestyles src="Fraction/styles.css" / ;9+2⁄3 innings pitched. On May 30, Luetge was designated for assignment by the Braves following the promotion of AJ Smith-Shawver. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple–A Gwinnett Stripers on June 6. On July 13, the Braves selected Luetge back to the major league roster. On July 24, Luetge was designated for assignment by the Braves following Atlanta's acquisition of Pierce Johnson. He again cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple–A on July 26. Luetge once more had his contract selected to the major league roster on September 18. He tossed two scoreless innings against the Philadelphia Phillies, but was designated for assignment the following day. On September 21, Luetge cleared waivers and was outrighted to Gwinnett. He elected free agency on October 13.
Boston Red Sox.
On February 10, 2024, Luetge signed a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox. In 31 appearances for the Triple–A Worcester Red Sox, he compiled a 3.02 ERA with 47 strikeouts and 6 saves across ;templatestyles src="Fraction/styles.css" / ;41+2⁄3 innings pitched. On August 3, Luetge opted out of his contract and elected free agency.
Chicago Cubs.
On August 7, 2024, Luetge signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs. On November 6, he elected free agency.
Scouting report.
Luetge throws a variety of pitches. He has a four-seam and two-seam fastball that average about 90 mph, a sweeping slider in the low 80s, a curveball in the mid-upper 70s, and an occasional changeup. Luetge's wide arm angle on his delivery makes him appealing as a left-handed specialist; through his first 13 appearances in the 2012 season, lefties were hitting only .105 off of him, but righties managed a .308 average.
References.
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