Merkin R. Valdéz Mola is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Oakland Athletics organization. Valdez graduated from Escuela Rural Palenque High School in his native Dominican Republic. Valdez was signed by the Atlanta Braves as an amateur free agent in 1999. He played with the Braves Dominican League team in 2000 and 2001 and the Gulf Coast Braves in 2002. He was traded by the Braves with Damian Moss to the San Francisco Giants for Russ Ortiz on December 17, 2002. He was named San Francisco's Minor League Player of the Year and selected as a Low A All-Star in 2003 when he... went 9-5 with a 2.25 ERA for the Hagerstown Suns in the South Atlantic League. In 2004, Valdez pitched for Single-A San Jose Giants, Double-A Norwich Navigators, Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies, and made his Major League debut on August 1, 2004 against the St. Louis Cardinals. He appeared in 2 games for the Giants, working 1.2 innings for a 27.00 ERA. Valdez was selected to the World squad for the All-Star Futures Game for 3 consecutive years , held in conjunction with MLB All-Star festivities.
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| Birthdate: | November 10, 1981 |
| Birthplace: | San Cristóbal |
| Age: | 30 |
| All Positions Played: | Relief pitcher, Pitcher |
| Also known as: | Merkin Valdez |