Carlos Torres: 2015 NL Champion Mets Relief Pitcher (2013-2015)

Carlos Ephriam Torres was born on October 22, 1982 in Santa Cruz California.

The six foot one right handed pitcher attended Kansas State University & San Jose State University, getting drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 15th round of the 2004 draft.

He began as a starting pitcher but by the time he got to AA ball he was becoming more of a full time reliever. In 2009 he made 20 starts at AAA Charlotte & pitched a rain shortened five inning game against Pawtucket. He went 10-4 that season getting a call up to the White Sox big league team.

He debuted on July 22nd, pitching six innings & allowing three runs to the Tampa Rays, earning no decision in the 4-3 win. On September 3rd he pitched five shut out innings against the Cubs in an interleague Chicago matchup, earning his first career win.

On the year he was 1-2 in eight appearances posting a high 6.04 ERA. He appeared in just five games at the big league level in 2010 & then

In 2011 he went to pitch in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants. He then signed a one year deal with the Colorado Rockies for 2012. He made 31 appearances going 5-3 while finishing up none games. He once again had a high ERA at 5.26 while walking 26 batters in 28 innings. He was granted free agency & signed with the New York Mets.

In 2013 Torres began the year at AAA Las Vegas where he went 6-3 as a starting pitcher. He tossed two complete games, struck out 67 batters while walking just 19 in 71 innings pitched, posting a 3.89 ERA. His improvement earned him a call up to a Mets bullpen that was constantly changing in the middle relief department.

Torres made his Mets debut on June 16th pitching two scoreless innings in a 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs at Citi Field. On June 21st his perfect 8th inning, earned him a hold against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

 The next night, he served up a walk off HR to Kevin Frandsen taking the loss. On July 13th, he made his first Mets start, coming at Pittsburgh where he earned no decision in the 4-2 loss. His five innings of one run baseball got him another start in the rotation. 

On July 23rd he went six innings, holding down the Atlanta Braves to one run at Citi Field, striking out six batters. He earned the win in the 4-1 game. His next start against the Nats in Washington was a disaster, giving up eight runs on nine hits in just three innings, in a 14-1 debacle of a loss. By the end of July he was moved into the bullpen as Jenry Mejia was put into the starting rotation.

On August 2nd, he entered a 2-2 tied game against the Kansas City Royals at Citi Field. He pitched two scoreless innings earning the win, when Eric Young Jr. blasted a walk off two run HR. On August 10th in his fourth straight relief effort he earned a hold in the 4-1 Mets win over the D-backs in Arizona.

He was placed into the starting rotation on August 29th, after Matt Harvey was finished for the year with an injury. Torres pitched into the 7th inning, earning a win over the Philadelphia Phillies. In September he went 0-3 losing to the Braves in Atlanta, Washington & Miami at home. On the season he was 4-6 with a 3.44 ERA in 33 appearances.

In 2014 Torres started out with a busy April. He earned two quick victories in the first two weeks of the year. He ended the month with a save & four holds with a 1.29 ERA. In May & June he took four losses but earned one win. After that he won three straight decisions & ended July with a 5-4 record, two saves & a 3.03 ERA. In September he was once again a relief work horse, coming in second on the club in appearances for the season.

He was credited with six holds, as well as two more victories. Coming in late relief he was credited with a win in Miami on September 3rd, as a Travis d'Arnaud double & Dilson Herrera ground scored Lucas Duda with the winning run 4-3. 

On September 8th, Curtis Granderson's RBI triple tied up the game in the bottom of the 9th inning. Then Wilmer Flores' sac fly won it, walk off style over Latroy Hawkins & the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field. In 2014 he went 7-5 with a 3.02 ERA, 93 Ks & 35 walks in 70 appearances.

Torres began the Mets 2015 NL Championship season with four holds in April, earning his first win on April 27th against the Marlins. In May he earned his second win & four more holds as he saw regular relief action.

After falling to 2-4 he earned two more victories in  July to get to .500, lowering his ERA to a respectable 3.50 by August 1.

On August 27th he pitched two scoreless extra innings at Philadelphia earning his 5th win. The next day he took an extra inning loss to the Boston Red Sox.

He closed out the year with 59 appearances (second most in the Mets bullpen) going 5-6 with a 4.58 ERA, striking out48 & walking 18 giving up 30 earned runs in 57 innings. He did not make the post season roster nor pitch in the post season.

By January the Mets designated him for assignment & then placed him on waivers. He then pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2016, going 3-3 with a 2.73 ERA, making 72 appearances. He went 4-4 with 67 appearances in his second season with the Brewers.

In 2018 he was signed by the Washington Nats but appeared in just ten games with them.

In 2019 he was involved in four different organizations, with three of them, he was signed but soon released, the San Diego Padres, Minnesota Twins & San Francisco Giants. But he did pitch in four games for the Detroit Tigers.

In his ten year career he is 30-31 with 5 saves 447 Ks & 192 walks in 506 innings making 362 appearances.