Richie Palacios

Richie Palacios
Palacios with the Durham Bulls in 2025
Tampa Bay Rays – No. 1
Outfielder / Second baseman
Born: (1997-05-16) May 16, 1997
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 25, 2022, for the Cleveland Guardians
MLB statistics
(through 2025 season)
Batting average.241
Home runs12
Runs batted in50
Stats at Baseball Reference 
Teams

Richard Jordan Palacios (born May 16, 1997) is an American professional baseball outfielder and second baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Cleveland Guardians and St. Louis Cardinals.

Amateur career

Palacios attended Berkeley Carroll School in New York City and played college baseball at Towson University.[1] In 2016, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters of the Northwoods League[2] and in 2017 with the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[3][4]

Professional career

Cleveland Indians / Guardians

The Cleveland Indians drafted Palacios in the third round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft.[5] He made his professional debut that summer with the Arizona League Indians, Mahoning Valley Scrappers, and Lake County Captains, batting .361 with six home runs and 30 runs batted in over 45 games.[6] He did not play in 2019 due to a torn labrum or in 2020 because the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He started 2021 with the Akron RubberDucks before being promoted to the Columbus Clippers.[7] Over 103 games between the two teams, he slashed .297/.404/.471 with seven home runs, 48 runs batted in, 33 doubles, and twenty stolen bases.[8]

The newly-named Cleveland Guardians selected Palacios to their 40-man roster on November 19, 2021.[9]

After beginning the 2022 season with the Triple-A Columbus Clippers, Palacios was recalled by the Guardians on April 25, 2022, and made his major league debut that same day, starting in left field. He collected his first career hit in the same game, a single off of Los Angeles Angels starter Michael Lorenzen.[10] He played in 54 games during his rookie campaign, hitting .232/.293/.286 with no home runs and 10 RBI.

Palacios was optioned to Triple-A Columbus to begin the 2023 season.[11] In 56 games with Columbus, Palacios batted .217/.351/.318 with 3 home runs, 30 RBI, and 6 stolen bases. On June 11, 2023, Palacios was designated for assignment by the Guardians after Cody Morris was returned from the injured list.[12]

St. Louis Cardinals

On June 16, 2023, Palacios was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for cash considerations.[13] In 32 games for the Cardinals, he batted .258/.307/.516 with 6 home runs and 16 RBI.

Tampa Bay Rays

On January 5, 2024, the Cardinals traded Palacios to the Tampa Bay Rays for pitcher Andrew Kittredge.[14] In August, Palacios went on the injured list after injuring his knee while sliding headfirst into second base.[15] In his first season with the Rays, he played in a career-high 92 MLB games, batting .223 with five home runs and 19 stolen bases.[16]

After starting the 2025 season on the injured list with a fractured right ring finger, he played in one Rays game, going 3-for-4, before returning to the injured list with another knee sprain.[17][18] Palacios was activated from the injured list on September 1, 2025.[19]

International career

Palacios is eligible to represent the Netherlands and Curaçao (through his Curaçaoan mother), Puerto Rico (through his father), and the United States (his birthplace) in international baseball competitions.[20][21] He played for the Dutch team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic,[22] going 0-for-3 in his lone appearance, a 9–5 loss to Taiwan.[23][24]

Personal life

Palacios's brother, Joshua Palacios, also plays professional baseball and is in the Chicago White Sox organization. Their uncle, Rey Palacios, played in MLB from 1988 to 1990.[25][26][27] Their father, Richard also played baseball, reaching Triple-A.[28][29] Palacios' father is of Puerto Rican descent,[20] and his mother is from Curaçao.[21]

Palacios attended Derek Jeter's last game at Yankee Stadium.[4]

References

  1. ^ Mauriello, Troy (July 11, 2017). "Out on the Cape: Brooklyn baseball star seizing summer-time opportunity". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  2. ^ "Northwoods League Alumni in Major League Baseball" (PDF). Northwoods League.
  3. ^ "#1 Richard Palacios - Profile". Pointstreak. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Richie Palacios - Baseball". Towson Tigers. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  5. ^ Harrison, Casey (June 5, 2018). "Indians select Richard Palacios in MLB Draft". MLB.com. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
  6. ^ "Laurel resident Cody Morris makes progress on minor league mounds". Baltimore Sun. August 13, 2019.
  7. ^ Bournival, Brad (July 21, 2021). "Baseball is the shoe that fits for RubberDucks' Richard Palacios". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  8. ^ Noga, Joe (December 16, 2021). "Richie Palacios a step away from making an impact for Guardians: Podcast". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  9. ^ "Guardians Announce Series Of 40-man Roster Moves" (Press release). Cleveland Guardians. November 19, 2021.
  10. ^ "Palacios' first big league hit | 04/25/2022". MLB.com.
  11. ^ "Guardians' Richie Palacios: Optioned to Triple-A". CBS Sports. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  12. ^ "Guardians' Richie Palacios: Removed from40-man roster". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  13. ^ "Cardinals' Richie Palacios: Traded to St. Louis". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  14. ^ Passan, Jeff (January 5, 2024). "Rays trade Andrew Kittredge to Cards, get José Caballero from M's". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  15. ^ "Rays place Richie Palacios on 10-day injured list with right knee sprain". AP News. August 3, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  16. ^ "Richie Palacios Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  17. ^ Berry, Adam (April 18, 2025). "Palacios proves he's 'ready to go' with 3-hit game in return". MLB.com. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  18. ^ Deeds, Nick (April 19, 2025). "Richie Palacios Expected To Miss 4-6 Weeks Due To Knee Injury". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  19. ^ McDonald, Darragh (September 1, 2025). "Braves Claim Ha-Seong Kim From Rays". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
  20. ^ a b DiManno, Rosie (March 6, 2020). "Opinion | Perennial Blue Jays prospect Josh Palacios knows how the game is played. All he wants is a shot". Toronto Star. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
  21. ^ a b Noga, Joe. "Guardians' Richie Palacios dreamed of representing Curaçao, playing with his brother in WBC for the Netherlands". Cleveland Plain Dealer. No. February 15, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  22. ^ "Grote namen in voorselectie Koninkrijksteam voor World Baseball Classic" [Big names in preliminary selection of Kingdom team for World Baseball Classic]. HonkbalSoftbal.nl (in Dutch). January 10, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  23. ^ "Stats - Kingdom of the Netherlands". MLB.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  24. ^ "Netherlands v. Chinese Taipei". ESPN. March 11, 2023.
  25. ^ Abramson, Mitch (April 8, 2012). "For Palacios family of Park Slope, Brooklyn, baseball is a family affair". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on August 9, 2021.
  26. ^ Fominykh, Katherine (June 6, 2018). "Towson shortstop, Indians draftee Richie Palacios went the extra mile to carry on family legacy". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  27. ^ Clair, Michael (November 22, 2023). "When not laughing at each other, the Palacios bros rely on one another". MLB.com. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  28. ^ delos Santos, Justice (August 23, 2023). "Joshua, Richie Palacios share MLB field for first time". MLB.com. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  29. ^ delos Santos, Justice (September 16, 2023). "Joshua Palacios leads Roberto Clemente Day celebration". MLB.com. Retrieved September 29, 2025.
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