Cristopher Crisostomo Mercedes (born March 8, 1994), also known as C. C. Mercedes, is a Dominican professional baseballstarting pitcher for the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He was signed by the Tampa Bay Rays as an international free agent in 2011 and pitched for the Yomiuri Giants of NPB from 2017 to 2022. Crisostomo is listed at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) and 180 pounds (82 kg) and throws left handed. He is a switch hitter.
Career
Tampa Bay Rays
On July 2, 2011, Crisostomo signed with the Tampa Bay Rays organization as an international free agent.[1] He made his professional debut with the Dominican Summer League Rays in 2012, posting a 1–3 record and 3.66 ERA in 14 games. He split the 2013 season between the DSL Rays and the rookie-level GCL Rays, pitching to a cumulative 2–5 record and 3.83 ERA. He returned to the GCL Rays in 2014, pitching to a 1–2 record and 3.24 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 16.2 innings of work. For the 2015 season, Crisostomo played for the Low-A Hudson Valley Renegades, recording a 2.85 ERA in 18 appearances.[2] On October 8, 2015, Crisostomo was released by the Rays organization.[1]
Yomiuri Giants
On January 5, 2017, Crisostomo signed with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a developmental squad player. Initially, he spent a year with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp's Dominican academies, before his contract was not renewed. He spent the year with the Giants’ farm and team, recording a 3.29 ERA in 18 games.
On July 8, 2018, Crisostomo was added to Yomiuri's main team roster.[3] He made his NPB debut on July 10 as the starting pitcher against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, and pitched 5.0 scoreless innings en route to the win. He finished his rookie season with a 5–4 record and 2.05 ERA in 13 games. For the 2019 season, Crisostomo pitched in 22 games for Yomiuri, logging an 8–8 record and 3.52 ERA with 107 strikeouts in 138.1 innings of work. In 2020, Crisostomo recorded a 4–4 record and 3.10 ERA in 11 appearances before his season ended after undergoing surgery to clean out his left elbow.[4]
