Juan Carlos Cruz...Wife's name is Leonarda...Attended Jayaco Bonao High School in Bonao, D.R...Was ranked by Baseball
America as the second-best prospect in the Midwest League and Florida State League in 2000.
2011
Was a member of Tampa Bay's Opening Day roster and went on to fall one game shy of his career-high of 57 appearances, set with Arizona in 2008...Was the first non-roster spring invitee to make the Rays Opening Day roster since Eric Hinske in 2008...Was one of three relief pitchers in the Major Leagues with five or more wins and no losses; joining Toronto's Casey Janssen (6-0) and Arizona's Micah Owings (5-0)...Did not surrender a home runs until his 34th appearance on 7/6 at Minnesota (Michael Cuddyer) - a span of 30.2 innings without one...Also suffered his only blown save of the season on 7/6...Allowed a team-low 20% of his inherited runners to score (6-of-30)...Held opposing batters to a .211 average (36-for-171), which included a .171 (12-for-70) mark against left-handed batters...Tied career high (11th time) with 3.0ip in relief on 6/2 at Seattle...Compiled a 0.79 ERA (11.1ip/1er) in his nine outings during the month of June...Was on the
15-day disabled list from 7/17 to 8/2 with a right groin strain...Made one rehab appearance with Class-A Charlotte on 7/30...Had a 3.44 ERA
before landing on the D.L. and posted a 4.91 ERA (14.2ip/8er) in 18 games with Tampa Bay after being reinstated.
2010
Made the Royals Opening Day roster but was released after just 5 apps on April 23...underwent season-ending shoulder surgery on May 12...pitched for Tigres del Licey in the Dominican Winter League.
2009
Spent his first season with Kansas City, struggling with injuries to post a 5.72 ERA in 46 relief appearances, his highest ERA since 2005 with Oakland (7.44)...Held both right handed and left handed hitters to similar averages, as righties hit .247 while lefties hit 244...Despite a lofty 4.50 ERA on the road, Juan held batters to a .133 (10-for-75) average in 20 road appearances,
the lowest average in the Major Leagues among pitchers with at least 50.0 innings...teammate Robinson Tejeda
was second with a .138 average against...Began the year strong, going 1-0 with 1 save and a 1.69 ERA in 9 appearances, covering 10.2 innings...Picked up his second Major League save on April 30 vs. the Jays, his fi rst since September 21, 2002 at Pittsburgh
while with the Cubs...Took a loss on May 30 vs. the White Sox, his fi rst since June 9, 2007 vs. Boston...allowed 2 runs in a 5-3 defeat...
the loss snapped a streak of 11 consecutive winning decisions, which was the longest active streak in the Majors...
the loss was the fi rst of four he suffered to close out the season.
2008
Spent the majority of the season with Arizona and posted a 2.61 ERA (52.1-IP, 15-ER) in 57 relief apps...struck out 71 batters in 51.2 IP
(12.37 SO/9 IP).
2007
Started the season in the D-backs bullpen for the second straight season...Picked up his sixth win of the season on Sept. 19 against San Francisco, tying his career-high set in 2004 with Atlanta...Since 2003, ranks 12th in the Majors with a 10.45 strikeouts per 9 innings ratio (250 strikeouts in 215.1 innings)...Struck out 2 or more batters in 26 of his 53 appearances, including 4 straight appearances from July 8-July 21, totaling 13 strikeouts over 6.2 innings...Picked up his first win of the season on April 2, tossing 0.1 inning, striking out the only batter he faced...Earned his second win of the season on April 10 vs. Cincinnati, striking out 1 with 1 walk over 1.0 inning...Struck out a season-high 5 on 2 occasions (Aug. 14 at Florida and Sept. 23 against the Dodgers)...Ranked second in the Majors among reliever with 12.84 strikeouts per 9-innings (87 K/61.0 IP)...Recorded a strikeout in 17 consecutive appearances from April 2-June 12...also recorded a strikeout in 13 consecutive appearances from June 23-July 25, collecting 26 strikeouts in 15.0 innings.
2007 Postseason Highlights: Tossed 0.1 inning, allowing 1 hit, in the NLDS against his former Cubs teammates...saw action in 3 NLCS games against Colorado, tossing 4.0 innings and allowing 1 unearned run.
2006
Cruz worked both out of the starting rotation and in relief in 2006. He wasn't very consistent as a starter. After pitching out of the 'pen in April, he was moved into the starting rotation until he rejoined the bullpen when the D-Backs acquired Livan Hernandez from the Nationals. Cruz was a candidate to pitch in relief as he strained his right shoulder, which landed him on the disabled list for nearly a month. His best start of the season came on Aug. 8 against the Giants, when he gave up one earned run over 7 1/3 innings. Cruz finished the year with a 5-6 record and a 4.18 ERA.
2005
Opened the season in the A's bullpen but struggled in that role, posting an 8.49 ERA in 21 relief appearances...was sent to Triple-A Sacramento in the middle of June and moved into the starting rotation...returned to the Oakland bullpen in September and posted a 4.82 ERA in seven games...combined to go 0-3 with a 7.44 ERA in 28 games with the A's, all in relief...struck out 34 batters in 32.2
innings, an average of 9.37 per nine innings...allowed a .290 opponents batting average which broke down to .296 (21 for 71) against
right-handed hitters and .283 (17 for 60) against left-handers...allowed four of his five home runs to right-handers...allowed 13 extra base
hits for a .489 opponents slugging percentage...his opponents average rose to .314 (11 for 35) with runners in scoring position...allowed
a .237 (18 for 76) opponents batting average over his first 15 pitches in a game and .364 (20 for 55) after that...first batters faced were
7 for 26 (.269) with two walks and he allowed 4 of 16 (25.0%) inherited runners to score...posted a 4.11 ERA (7 er in 15.1 ip) and allowed
a .214 (12 for 56) opponents batting average in 14 outings on the road compared to a 10.38 ERA (20 er in 17.1 ip) and .347 (26 for 75)
opponents batting average in 14 outings in Oakland...allowed at least one run in 15 of his 28 outings, including two or more nine
times...struck out at least one batter in 20 of his outings, including 13 in a row from April 23 to May 29 (22 so in 15.0 ip)...allowed a run
in each of his first four outings (9 er in 5.0 ip, 16.20 ERA)...including April 11 against Toronto when he matched his relief career high with
four runs...allowed just one earned run over his next six outings (7.2 ip, 1.17 ERA) through May 11 but then posted a 10.13 ERA (12 er
in 10.2 ip) over his next 11 outings through June 16 and was optioned to Sacramento on June 17...brought back to Oakland when rosters
expanded on September 1 and did not allow a run in four of his seven outings...first hitters faced went 1 for 7 following his
return...tossed 3.0 innings on September 7 against Seattle, matching his longest career outing as a reliever...allowed three runs on five
hits in 2.0 innings on September 21 against Minnesota...the hits were his most ever allowed in a relief appearance...spent the balance of the season in Sacramento's starting rotation and went 5-1 with a 2.40 ERA in 13 starts...struck out 90 batters in 75.0 innings, an average
of 10.80 per nine innings...finished second on the River Cats in strikeouts despite spending just 2? months of the season
there...walked just 28 for a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.2 to 1...allowed just four home runs or one every 18.8 innings...allowed a .192
opponents batting average which included a .179 (22 for 123) mark against left-handed hitters and .203 (29 for 143) against right-handers...
opponents hit .184 (9 for 49) with runners in scoring position, including .125 (3 for 24) with RISP and two outs...allowed a 1.41
ERA (8 er in 51.0 ip) over the first four innings of the game and a 4.50 ERA (12 er in 24.0 ip) from the fifth inning on...tossed six or more
innings in nine of his 13 starts, allowed two runs or fewer nine times and walked two batters or fewer seven times...allowed two runs or
fewer in each of his first seven outings, going 3-0 with a 1.54 ERA (7 er in 41.0 ip)...was named Pacific Coast League Player of the Week
twice over that span...first time came for the week of June 27 to July 3 as he struck out 10 in 5.1 shutout innings on June 27 against
Portland and 11 in 7.0 innings on July 3 against Salt Lake...won it again for the week of July 11-17, striking out a season high 13 in a
season high tying 7.0 innings on July 16 against Colorado Springs...suffered his only loss of the season on July 31 at Nashville to start
a four start stretch where he went 1-1 with a 5.09 ERA (13 er in 23.0 ip)...did not allow a run over his final two starts (11.0 ip), including
August 23 at Salt Lake when he pitched 4.0 innings without allowing a hit.
2004
Pitched exclusively in relief for the first time in his career and was 6-2 with a 2.75 ERA in 50 games...the wins and games pitched were a career high and the ERA and his .224 opponents batting average were career lows...allowed 4 of 13 (30.8%) inherited runners to score, first batters faced were 10 for 45 (.222) with five walks and he did not have any save opportunities...struck out 70 in 72.0 innings for an average of 8.75 strikeouts per nine innings which was second best among Atlanta relievers...fanned four or more batters in a game five times...allowed a .239 (26 for 109) opponents average against left-handers and .214 (33 for 154) against right-handers...opponents average dropped to .159 (10 for 63) with runners in scoring position...finished 22 games, which ranked second on the Braves, and 17 of his outings were 2.0 innings or more...pitched a season-high 3.0 scoreless innings April 9 vs. Chicago (5 so) and August 15 vs. St. Louis (3 so)...struck out a season-high seven batters in 3.0 innings on June 13 at Chicago (AL)...posted a 1.88 ERA (3 er in 14.1 IP) in 10 games in the month of August...picked up his fifth and sixth wins of the season in consecutive outings against Montreal on September 11 and 12...made three postseason appearances for the Braves in the NLDS against Houston and posted a 9.82 ERA, allowing four runs on six hits in 3.2 innings...walked four and struck out four.
2003
Had four stints with the Cubs, going 2-7 with a 6.05 ERA...made six starts and 19 relief appearances...opened the year in the Cubs' bullpen before being optioned to Triple-A Iowa on June 3...was also in the Majors June 26-July 4, July 26-August 14 and August 31 through the end of the year...went 1-3 with a 5.45 ERA (20 er in 33.0 ip) in his starts...became just
the second Cubs reliever to strike out six consecutive batters in one game on Opening Day 2003 at New York (March 31)...the
only other Cub reliever to accomplish that feat was Bruce Sutter (September 8, 1977 vs. Montreal)...his next outing April 4 at
Cincinnati, he fanned the first two batters he faced (Brandon Larson, Adam Dunn) to tie a Cub mark for consecutive strikeouts
(8)...picked up his first win of the season May 1 at San Francisco, working 2.0 perfect innings in the Cubs' 10-inning, 5-1 victory....
made his first start of the campaign July 26 at Houston and took the loss in a 3-1 contest (6.0 ip, 4 h, 3 r, 3 bb, 5
so)...picked up a victory September 5 at Milwaukee (4-2), allowing two runs and six hits in 6.2 innings...it was his first big
league win as a starter since May 21, 2002, vs. Pittsburgh (4-3)...in a September 13 start against Cincinnati, he tripled off
John Bale...was the first Cubs pitcher to leg out a three-base hit since Kevin Foster on August 20, 1996, vs. Florida...appeared
in one postseason game for the Cubs, going 1.0 inning in relief in Game 4 of the NLCS against Atlanta...started nine games
for Iowa, going 4-0 with a 1.95 ERA...fanned 47 batters in 50.2 innings while allowing 37 hits and just one home run...allowed
two or fewer runs in all nine starts at Iowa...issued two or fewer walks in eight of his outings.
2002
Appeared in 45 games and went 3-11 with his first Major League save and a 3.98 ERA...opened the campaign in the starting rotation and went 1-7 with a 3.74 ERA in nine starts...errors resulted in 11 unearned runs being scored off him in his starting assignments...worked at least 6.0 innings in four starts, allowed two or fewer earned runs in six starts, issued two or fewer walks in three starts and allowed nine first-inning runs...the Cubs went 2-7 in his starts...lost his first seven decisions...was the fourth Cub to open a season 0-7, joining Bill Caudill in 1979, Danny Jackson in 1992 and Mike Morgan in 1994...finally earned his first win of the season May 21 in a 4-3 affair against Pittsburgh...after allowing three runs, two earned, on three hits in the first inning, he
settled down to throw one-hit ball over his final 5.0 innings...following that start, he was shifted to the bullpen...in his 36 relief
outings, he went 2-4 with a 4.18 ERA...in his bullpen appearances, he held opponents to a .217 batting average...retired the
first batter he faced in 23 of his outings...had a pair of 3.0 inning relief stints...ended the campaign with a 2.32 ERA (8 er in
31.0 ip) over his final 23 appearances...earned his first career win out of the bullpen September 1 in a 5-4 victory against St.
Louis...recorded his first ML save September 21 at Pittsburgh, working a scoreless ninth inning in a 4-2 contest...was on the
disabled list August 10-August 24 with a strained right arm...had allowed two runs in 13.1 innings in his final 10 outings
before going on the injured list.
2001
Saw his first big league action, going 3-1 with a 3.22 ERA in eight starts after his contract
was purchased from Double-A West Tenn on August 21...made his first ML start August 21 against Milwaukee and suffered the loss in a 3-1 contest (6.0 ip, 3 h, 2 r, 1 bb, 8 so)...in his second start August 26 vs. St. Louis, he picked up his first
victory in a 6-1 contest...allowed four hits in 5.2 scoreless innings...picked up his first two hits October 2 vs. Cincinnati (singles
off Lance Davis and Chris Reitsma)...was utilized three times as a pinch runner (August 28 vs. Florida, September 1 at
Atlanta, September 30 vs. Houston)...in 23 starts for West Tenn, he was 9-6 with a 4.01 ERA...fanned 137 batters in 121.1
innings of work and allowed fewer than two earned runs in 10 of his starts...at the time of his promotion to the Cubs, his strike-out total ranked third in the Southern League...averaged 10.2 strikeouts for every 9.0 innings of work...surrendered just 6
homers (1 every 20.2 innings) while holding batters to a .238 average...worked at least 6.0 innings in 10 of his starts, including
a season-high 8.1 innings July 14 vs. Jacksonville...in that contest, a 1-0 loss, he took a no-hitter into the 9th inning...in
an 11-strikeout game June 28 against Huntsville, his homer was the margin of victory in a 1-0 affair...was one of the Cubs'
representatives at the Major League All-Star Futures Game, pitching for the World Team.
2000
Split the season between Single-A Lansing and Single-A Daytona...in 25 games, 24 starts, he combined to go 8-5 with three complete games and a
3.27 ERA...struck out 160 batters in 140.1 innings while allowing 11 homers...opened the year at Lansing, going 5-5 with a 3.28 ERA in 17 starts...went the distance twice, including his only professional shutout...began the campaign 0-5...over his
final 11 starts for the Lugnuts, he went 5-0 with a 1.00 ERA, 80 strikeouts (in 71.2 innings) and a .187 opponents' batting
average...after a midseason promotion to Daytona, he went 3-0 with a 3.25 ERA in eight games, seven starts...after the season,
he was selected by Baseball America as the second best prospect in both the Midwest League and the Florida State
League.
1999
Started 15 games for the Cubs' Single-A Eugene affiliate and went 5-6 with a 5.94 ERA.
1998
Began his professional career with the Cubs' Mesa (Rookie) club, where he was 2-4 with a 6.10 ERA in 12 contests, five starts...allowed two homers in 41.1 innings while fanning 36 batters.
