Cesar Jimenez Clears Waivers
By Matt Veasey
The Philadelphia Phillies announced today that lefty pitcher Cesar Jimenez, removed from the 40-man roster and exposed to waivers when the club signed free agent pitcher Chad Billingsley, has gone unclaimed and thus has cleared waivers.
Jimenez was immediately optioned to the roster of the organization’s AAA affiliates, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. However, it was also announced that Jimenez has received a non-roster invitation to attend spring training.
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The now 30-year old was first signed by the Seattle Mariners as a 16-year old out of Venezuela back in 2001. Beginning in 2002, Jimenez has spent at least parts of every season since in the minor leagues.
Jimenez got his first taste of life in the big leagues with the Mariners during a 4-game cup of coffee during September of 2006. On September 25th of that season, Jimenez was given his first-ever start in MLB. He lasted just 4 innings, yielding 5 earned runs and 10 hits, in a 10-9 win over the Oakland A’s.
Jimenez next returned to the Mariners for 31 games, including 2 starts, in the 2008 season. He was then back again for 8 games in 2011, including earning his first victory on September 21st vs the Minnesota Twins.
In December of 2012, Jimenez signed as a free agent with the Phillies. He then re-signed with the team in November of 2013 for another season. He spent most of each year pitching out of the Lehigh Valley bullpen.
During 35 games with the Phillies split between 2013-14, all out of the bullpen, Jimenez has a 2.73 ERA and a 1.364 WHIP. He yielded 28 hits in 33 innings, with a 19-17 K/BB ratio. He spent almost the entirety of last season’s final two months pitching out of the club’s pen as a situational lefty.