Twelve years ago, infielder Charlie Culberson made his big-league debut for the SF Giants as a light-hitting middle infielder. The Giants supplemental first-round pick in the 2007 MLB Draft (the same class as Madison Bumgarner), has gone on to have a long MLB career as a utility infielder. Despite receiving fewer opportunities in recent seasons, Culberson is not ready to hang up his cleats quite yet. In fact, he's attempting to resurrect his career as a relief pitcher.
Culberson played in just a single baseball game last year, though he was a member of Atlanta for three separate stretches, twice released and re-signed. His lone plate appearance came on July 19, when he reached on an infield single after pinch-hitting for Marcell Ozuna late in an 8-1 blowout.
Clearly Atlanta loves having him around, even if he never took the field beyond the one pinch-hit appearance. Of course, they might just feel bad about designating him for assignment on Father's Day, right before his father was going to throw out the first pitch.
But the Braves may see something in Culberson and his lifetime 1.23 ERA. He's made eight relief appearances since 2018, but hasn't given up an earned run in the last seven of them. His fastball has hit 94 mph, and while he's only struck out one batter in his 7.1 innings of work for Atlanta and the Texas Rangers, he's also never given up a home run. At Triple-A last year, he logged five strikeouts, two walks, and two earned runs.
While Culberson never carved out a big role with the team that drafted him, San Francisco's fanbase has plenty to celebrate from his career. The Giants traded Culberson to the Colorado Rockies for second baseman Marco Scutaro in 2012, and Scutaro went on to have a phenomenal run that season. The veteran slashed .362/.385/.473 in 61 games, then hit .500 during the Giants' comeback win in the NLCS, winning MVP.
Culberson spent portions of 2012-14 with the Colorado Rockies, and played 49 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016-17. He went 3-for-5 in the 2017 World Series, and even hit a home run, something he did only 30 other times in his career.
Don't worry, the Dodgers still lost that game.
In 2018, Culberson found his greatest career success when he joined Atlanta. That season, Culberson hit .270/.326/.466 with 18 doubles, two triples, and 12 home runs in 113 games. The Rome, Georgia native was excellent against left-handed pitching and showcased incredible defensive versatility, playing seven different positions - all but center field and catcher.
He remained productive in a similar (albeit smaller) role with Atlanta in the following season, but by 2020, he had been relegated to a minuscule role. Following the season, he signed a minor-league contract with the Texas Rangers, where he spent the past two seasons as a solid bench bat. He hit .246/.292/.373 with 21 doubles and seven home runs in 395 plate appearances, while still playing all over the diamond.
Will Culberson get a chance to showcase his pitching skills next season? Will his new focus on the mound help him take his career to a new level?
Probably not. But Atlanta clearly value his veteran leadership enough to keep him on the roster for months while almost never using him. Culberson doesn't have to be a great reliever, or even a good one. He just needs to be able to pitch an occasional eighth or ninth inning in a blowout. And who knows, given how the SF Giants have experimented with two-way players in recent years, maybe Charlie Culberson will find his way back to the franchise that drafted him before he hangs up his cleats.
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