DETROIT Tigers vs BALTIMORE Orioles NBA 13 March 2023. In the World Baseball Classic on Monday, 21-year-old right-hander Duque Hebbert retired Juan Soto, Julio Rodriguez, and Rafael Devers.
Also, he signed a deal with the Detroit Tigers.
Prior to pitching a scoreless ninth inning in a 6-1 loss to the Dominican Republic. Team Nicaragua pitcher Hebbert was almost unknown. Shortly after the game, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound pitcher signed with the Tigers, according to the Nicaraguan national baseball team.
DETROIT Tigers vs BALTIMORE Orioles NBA
According to a source with knowledge of the matter, Hebbert has not been officially signed by the. Tigers, but the two parties have reached an understanding on a minor-league contract. He still needs to write anything down, have his physical, and pass more exams.
When Hebbert, who is now in Miami for the WBC, will report to Lakeland is unknown.
In the ninth inning, Hebbert employed nine changeups, six sliders, two four-seam fastballs. And two sinkers while throwing 14 of his 19 pitches for strikes. His changeup was 82-84 mph, his slider 79-80 mph, and his fastball was 89.5 mph.
Hebbert started his at-bat by retiring Soto on three pitches, the last two of which were back-to-back changeups at the bottom of the zone that produced swinging strikes. He then used a down-and-away slider for a swinging strike to strike out Rodriguez. After battling Devers for seven pitches, he finally prevailed when a second changeup at the bottom of the zone produced a swinging strike.
After Rodriguez and before Devers in the lineup, Manny Machado fell behind 0-2 but hit a fourth-pitch slider for a double despite the deficit.
The Pool D match between Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic took place at LoanDepot Park in Miami, and Luis Molina, a Tigers scout in Panama and Nicaragua, was there. After the game, he tracked down Hebbert and presented him with the contract.
Hebbert pitched for Tren del Norte in the Liga Nicaragüense de Béisbol Profesional, the top professional baseball league in Nicaragua, before signing with the Tigers. He pitched over 282 3 innings in 21 outings as a rookie in that league this past winter, compiling a 4.71 ERA with 17 walks and 24 strikeouts.
Hebbert has never been a member of a Major League Baseball team.
This is anticipated to change quickly.
