Francisco Cervelli

Francisco Cervelli is a professional baseball catcher for the Miami Marlins. Born in Venezuela, Cervelli played shortstop, second base and occasionally pitched. The New York Yankees with the agreement that he would try catching signed Cervelli as a free agent. In 2003, Cervelli played in the Dominican Summer League. Cervelli was called up the Yankees in 2008 and made his major league debut on September 18, 2008. Cervelli spent the beginning of the 2009 season in the minors and was called back up to the Yankees in May. On June 24, 2009, Cervelli hit his first major league homerun against the Atlanta Braves. That same year, Cervelli was on the team when the Yankees won the 2009 MLB World Series. On May 8, 2011, Cervelli hit his first home run of the season, which was also his first career grand slam against Texas. Cervelli became the starting catcher for the Yankees in 2013. On November 12, 2014, Cervelli was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates. After five seasons with the Pirates, he signed with the Atlanta Braves near the end of 2019. Cervelli then joined the Miami Marlins prior to the 2020 season. He also played internationally during his career. He played for the Italy national baseball team during the 2009 and 2013 World Baseball Classic.