José Franco (baseball)
Venezuelan baseball player (born 2000)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
José Alejandro Franco (born November 25, 2000) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2026.
| José Franco | |
|---|---|
| Cincinnati Reds – No. 74 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: November 25, 2000 Maracay, Venezuela | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| March 30, 2026, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| MLB statistics (through April 29, 2026) | |
| Win–loss record | 0–0 |
| Earned run average | 5.91 |
| Strikeouts | 9 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| |
Career
Franco signed with the Cincinnati Reds as an international free agent in October 2018. He made his professional debut in 2019 with the Dominican Summer League Reds. He did not pitch in 2020 due to the Minor League Baseball season being cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He pitched 2021 and 2022 with the Daytona Tortugas and missed the 2023 after undergoing Tommy John Surgery.[1]
Franco returned in 2024 to pitch for Daytona and the Dayton Dragons.[2] He started 2025 with the Chattanooga Lookouts before being promoted to the Louisville Bats.[3]
On November 6, 2025, the Reds added Franco to their 40-man roster to prevent him from reaching minor league free agency.[4] Franco was optioned to Triple-A Louisville to begin the 2026 season.[5] However, following an injury to Nick Lodolo, Franco was announced as part of Cincinnati's Opening Day roster.[6]