Gerardo Parra

[Michael Trzinski]

Gerardo Enrique Parra was born in Santa Barbara, Venezuela and was signed in 2004 by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He made his professional debut at Missoula (Montana) in the rookie Pioneer League, slashing .328/.386/.469 with 23 stolen bases.

The left-handed hitting Parra made his debut in ‘The Show’ in his third year. Called up in mid-May, Parra slashed .290/.324/.404 and finished eighth in the National League Rookie of the Year award balloting.

Over the next four-plus years, Parra was a consistent performer in the Diamondbacks outfield, averaging 141 games per season. Over that time, he slashed .274/.331/.400 with 151 extra-base hits and 41 stolen bases. The outfielder won a Gold Glove in 2011 and 2013. Parra was traded to the Brewers before the July 2014 trading deadline for pitcher Anthony Banda and outfielder Mitch Haniger. In 46 games for Milwaukee, Parra slashed .268/.318/.390 across 123 at-bats.

In 2015 Parra had a 2.0 bWAR, third best on the Brewers. His batting line of .328/.369/.517 across 323 at-bats included a team-high five triples and an OPS+ of 140. In July Parra was smoking-hot with a slash line of .435/.495/.718 in 85 at-bats. On July 31 he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for pitcher Zach Davies. His time in Baltimore was disappointing as he posted a sub-par OPS+ of 69. He was granted free agency and signed with the Colorado Rockies the following January.

Parra lasted three seasons in Denver and had a combined slash line of .283/.320/.407 with an OPS+ of 80 through the 2018 season. Once again a free agent, Parra signed with the San Francisco Giants in January 2019. He lasted only 30 games before his .198/.278/.267 slash line caused the Giants to release him. He was soon picked up by the Washington Nationals and batted .250/.300/.447 in 89 games. Parra appeared four times in the World Series that the Nationals won in seven games. After, Parra became a free agent and spent the 2020 season in Japan before returning to the Nationals in 2021. After splitting the year between Triple-A Rochester and Washington, Parra signed a minor league contract for 2022. In May he was released and a few days later, retired.

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