Signed as a free agent on Feb 16, 2000. Formerly known as Leo Nuñez...the reliever logged 92 saves from 2009-11 as the Marlins closer (8th most in the majors in that span.
2013
Spent the entire season on the disabled list as he recovered from Tommy John surgery performed in September 2012…came to spring training as a non-roster invite and was placed on 60-day DL prior to Opening Day... Following the season the Rays declined their 2014 club option and re-signed him shortly thereafter.
2012
Was with the Marlins organization but missed the first three and a half months of the season dealing with visa issues and serving a suspension from MLB for age and identity fraud...began a rehab assignment on July 9, making 2 apps with Class-A Jupiter before suffering an elbow injury in his first and only rehab game with Triple-A New Orleans...he was placed on the DL with a sprained right elbow and underwent Tommy John surgery on Sep 6.
2011
Was second on Club in appearances, while his 36 saves were tied for 11th in Majors (tied for eighth in National League)...His 25 saves prior to All-Star break were tied for third-most in Club history with Bryan Harvey (1993), behind Armando Benitez (30-2004) and Antonio Alfonseca (28-2000)...Set a new Club record for most saves in May (11); also set new personal high for
saves in a month...Tied Alfonseca (2000) for second-most saves in April in Clubstory, with eight. Benitez
had 10 in 2004...Registered 10th season of 30-or-more saves in Club history; among eight pitchers who
have accomplished feat, only he and Robb Nen (1996 & '97) have done so twice.
2010
In his second season with the Marlins, posted a 4-3 record and 30 saves (38 opportunities) with a
3.46 ERA in 68 games. He established a career-high in saves, tied his career-best in wins, appeared in the second-most games and tossed the second-most innings ... Became just the eighth closer (ninth time) in Franchise history to record 30-or-more saves in a single
season. Armando Benitez holds the club record with 47 in 2004, and he is followed by Antonio
Alfonseca (45 in 2000), Bryan Harvey (45 in 1993), Todd Jones (40 in 2005), Joe Borowski (36 in
2006), Robb Nen (35 in 1997 and '96) and Kevin Gregg (32 in 2007) ... Began the season by throwing 10.1 scoreless innings over his first 10 games, allowing just two hits
in that time frame ... Allowed first run of the season on May 4 vs. San Francisco in a blown save opportunity. Allowed
one run on one hit over his 1.0 inning of work ... Converted nine straight save opportunities from May 7 to June 13 ... Earned first win of the season on April 7 at New York. In his first save opportunity of the season,
tossed a season-high 1.1 innings, allowing two of three inherited runners to score in the blown
save opportunity ... Also earned wins on May 13 vs. New York, June 29 vs. New York and July 22 vs. Colorado ... His first loss of the year came on June 15 vs. Texas, as he allowed two runs on two hits with a walk
over 1.0 inning. Recorded his second loss seven games later on July 2 at Atlanta, surrendering
two runs, two hits and a walk without recording an out. His final loss came on August 29 at
Atlanta when he surrendered a season-high three runs on two hits (both home runs) in just 0.2
inning ... His best month came in July when he posted a 1-1 record and 10 saves in 11 chances with a 2.31
ERA (11.2 IP/3 ER) over 13 games. Set the club record for saves in July, besting the previous mark
set by Kevin Gregg in 2008 (9) ... Fared better on the road as he went 1-2 with 18 saves in 21 chances and a 2.93 ERA (27.2 IP/9
ER) over 30 games. At home, went 3-1 with 12 saves in 17 opportunities and a 3.86 ERA (37.1 IP/16
ER) in 38 games ... Notched his 30th save of the season on September 30 vs. PIttsburgh ... He retired 45 of 68 first batters faced (72.6%) and held left-handed hitters to a .214 average
(28x131).
2009
In his ninth professional season, went 4-6 with a 4.06 ERA and 26 saves (33 opportunities) in team-leading 75 games with the Marlins. Ranked 12th in the National League in saves, while his 75 appearances were tied for 11th. Shared the NL lead in home runs allowed by a reliever with Kevin Gregg (13)...He earned his first career save May 30 at New York. Had six previous save opportunities in his career...From June 29 to August 10, converted 10 straight saves, going 1-1 with a 3.71 ERA (17.0 IP/7 ER) in 17 games during that stretch...With his save on September 9 at New York, became the 10th pitcher in club history to record 20+ saves in a single season, and eighth in the last nine years...Tossed a season-high 2.0 innings on May 6 vs. Atlanta. Equaled the mark on July 17 vs. Philadelphia...Struck out a season-best three batters on July 17 vs. Philadelphia...Tossed 11.2 scoreless innings from April 28 to game one on May 20, going 0-1 while surrendering just four hits in that span...In 33 games with a save opportunity, was 1-3 with a 4.66 ERA (29.0 IP/15 ER). In 42 games where there was no save opportunity, went 3-3 with a 3.63 ERA (39.2 IP/16 ER)...Posted wins on April 17 at WSH, April 19 at WSH, July 28 vs. ATL and September 1 vs. ATL. Suffered losses May 20 vs. ARI (GM2), May 23 against TB, June 11 vs. STL, August 1 vs. CHC, September 6 at WSH and September 25 vs. NYM...Allowed only seven of 24 inherited runners to score (29.2%) and retired 48 of 75 first batters faced (64.0%).
2008
Began 2008 making his first career Opening Day roster with Kansas City, setting career-bests in ERA (2.98), wins (4) and appearances (45)...Did not surrender an earned run over 18 appearances during the day, spanning 18.2 innings...was one of three pitchers in the Majors to not allow an earned run in at least 18 day appearances,
joining Joe Beimel (LAD) and Scott Downs (TOR)...Earned first win of the season on Opening Day at Detroit, tossing
2.0 scoreless innings in a 5-4, 11-inning affair...Started season by tossing 9.0 consecutive scoreless innings over
eight appearances, allowing only three hits with 10 strikeouts...Was scored upon just one time in his first 20 appearances (20.0
IP), allowing three runs in 1.0 inning on April 25 vs. TOR...Placed on 15-day DL with a strained lat muscle on May 29 (retro
to May 28), missing 46 games before being reinstated on July
21...After returning from the DL, went 1-0 with a 6.23 ERA over his
next 11 outings...Over his final 13 appearances, posted a 1.88 ERA (14.1 IP/3
ER)...allowed only runs in that span in a 0.1 inning stint on Sept.
10 at MIN.
2007
Had an up and down 2007, but finished the year on a high note pitching well out of the Royals bullpen...Has all 5 of his career wins at home (5-1 overall, 2-1 in 2007), but is 0-5 (0-3 in 2007) on the road...Opened the season on the 15-day D.L. with a fractured right wrist suffered during a game in spring training...transferred to the 60-day D.L. on April 4...Began a rehab assignment with Wichita (AA) on May 29...was later recalled
from his rehab assignment and optioned to Wichita on June 10...Made starts at both Wichita and Omaha (AAA) for the first time in his
professional career since 2004...Recalled from Omaha for a spot start on July 17 and received a no decision,
tossing 4 innings, allowing just 1 run in a Royals 9-3 win at Boston...optioned
to Omaha the next day...Recalled on July 29 and won his fi rst game as a starter that day, posting 6
shutout innings on 3 hits in a 10-0 home win over Texas...Made 6 starts for KC, recording a 2-2 record and a 3.99 ERA (29.1 IP, 33 H,
13 ER)...the Royals were 4-2 in those games, including winning the first 4...Tossed a career-high 6.1 innings in a loss to Detroit on Aug. 30...also allowed
a career-high 12 hits and struck out a career-best 6 Tigers...Was optioned to Omaha in a paper move on Aug. 31 and recalled on Sept.
4...spent the remainder of the season in the KC bullpen, going 0-2 with a 3.48
ERA in 6 outings...Pitched 4 scoreless innings, allowing just 1 hit while striking out 5, on the final
day of the season on Sept. 30 vs. playoff-bound Cleveland...Opponents were 0-for-13 against him with runners in scoring position and 2
outs...Did not issue a walk over his final 7 appearances (1 start), covering 16.1
innings...struck out 18 over that same span.
2006
Compiled a 4.73 ERA in 7 games for Kansas City in 3 different stints with the Royals...allowed 15 hits and 7 earned runs in 13.1 innings...Did not allow any of the 5 runners he inherited for KC to score, but allowed 3 of 7 1st batters faced to reach base...KC was 1-6 in games he pitched...Opened the season with Wichita (AA) where he was 1-2 with 3 saves and a
4.29 ERA (21.0 IP, 18 H, 10 ER) in 15 games...was recalled from Wichita on
May 24...struck out 2 batters while allowing 1 run in 2.1 innings at Detroit on
May 24 before being optioned to Omaha on May 25...Recalled from Omaha (AAA) on June 4 but did not appear in a game...optioned
back to Omaha on June 10...Recalled from Omaha on July 25 and pitched in 6 games (11.0 IP, 14 H, 6 ER)...
was returned to Omaha on Aug. 9.
2005
Saw his 1st season at the Major League level, going 3-2 with a 7.55 ERA (53.2 IP, 45 ER) in 41 games of work...Started the season at High Desert (A) where he compiled a 9.00 ERA (13.0 IP, 13 ER) in 8 games before being promoted to Wichita...Had his contract purchased on May 9 from Wichita (AA)...was 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in 3 games with Wichita (5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER)...had a 5-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio (20 SO, 4 BB) prior to his call-up...Made his M.L. debut May 9 at Toronto, striking out 2 batters in 1.0 scoreless inning...became the 13th-youngest pitcher (21 years, 272 days) to make his debut with the Royals...Teamed with Ambiorix Burgos (63.1) and Andrew Sisco (75.1) to become the first rookie trio in Major League history to toss at least 50.0 innings without making a start...Was 3-0 with a 3.10 ERA (29.0 IP, 25 H, 10 ER) in 20 games at Kauffman Stadium...struggled on the road, posting a 0-2 record and a 12.77 ERA (24.2 IP, 48 H, 35 ER)...Earned his 1st M.L. victory May 19 vs. Baltimore, tossing 2.2 scoreless innings in the Royals 7-4 win...Struggled from May 28-June 28, allowing 20 earned runs in 14.0 innings (12.86 ERA) in 13 appearances after allowing just 2 runs in 9.2 innings during his 1st 6 M.L. appearances...Earned his 2nd Major League win July 9 vs. Minnesota...it was the bullpen's 1st win since June 16...Optioned to Wichita on Aug. 6 and recalled on Sept. 1.
2004
Played the entire season at Hickory (A), compiling a 10-4 record and a 3.13 ERA in 27 games (20 starts)...His ERA was good for 3rd-best in the Pirates minor league system...Finished tied for 5th in the South Atlantic League with 140 strikeouts and tied for 2nd with 3 complete games...Recorded his 1st career save on May 19 vs. Delmarva...tossed 4.0 scoreless
innings allowing just 2 hits and 1 walk and striking out 8.
2000
Nunez was originally signed by Pittsburgh as a non-drafted free agent on Feb. 16, 2000.
