| Demarcus Evans | |
| Team: | Free agent |
| Bats: | Right |
| Throws: | Right |
| Birth Date: | 22 October 1996 |
| Birth Place: | Petal, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Debutleague: | MLB |
| Debutdate: | September 18 |
| Debutyear: | 2020 |
| Debutteam: | Texas Rangers |
| Statleague: | MLB |
| Statyear: | 2021 season |
| Stat1label: | Win–loss record |
| Stat1value: | 0–2 |
| Stat2label: | Earned run average |
| Stat2value: | 4.75 |
| Stat3label: | Strikeouts |
| Stat3value: | 37 |
| Teams: |
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Demarcus Malik Evans (born October 22, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers.
Evans attended Petal High School in Petal, Mississippi.[1] Evans was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 25th round of the 2015 MLB draft and signed with them for a $100,000 signing bonus,[2] [3] forgoing his college commitment to Hinds Community College.[4]
After signing, Evans was assigned to the Arizona League Rangers of the Rookie-level Arizona League to make his professional debut; in innings pitched for them, he posted a 0–0 record with a 2.31 ERA. He split the 2016 season between the AZL Rangers and the Spokane Indians of the Low–A Northwest League. In a combined 14 games (12 starts), he went 1–2 with a 2.95 ERA, striking out 75 in 55 innings. He split 2017 between the AZL Rangers, Spokane, and Hickory Crawdads of the Single–A South Atlantic League, going a combined 2–8 with a 4.53 ERA in 20 games (14 starts). He spent 2018 with Hickory, going 4–1 with a 1.77 ERA, while striking out 103 in 56.0 innings.[5] He earned a spot on the South Atlantic League post-season all-star team.[6] After the 2018 regular season, Evans played for the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League.[7] [8] Evans was named the Texas Rangers 2018 Minor League Reliever of the Year.[9]
Evans was assigned to the Down East Wood Ducks of the High–A Carolina League to open the 2019 season.[10] He went 4–0 with a 0.81 ERA and 40 strikeouts in innings for them. On May 29, he was promoted to the Frisco RoughRiders of the Double-A Texas League.[11] [12] With Frisco, Evans went 2–0 with a 0.96 ERA and 60 strikeouts over innings.[13] [14] Evans was named the 2019 MiLB Relief Pitcher of the Year by Baseball America.[15] Evans was named the Texas Rangers 2019 Minor League Reliever of the Year.[16] Following the 2019 season, Evans played for Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Winter League.[17] On November 20, 2019, the Rangers added Evans to their 40–man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[18]
On September 15, 2020, Evans was promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[19] He made his debut on September 18 against the Los Angeles Angels, surrendering Albert Pujols' career home run number 662.[20] In four appearances for Texas in 2020, Evans recorded a 2.25 ERA with 4 strikeouts over 4 innings.[6] Evans split the 2021 season between Texas and the Round Rock Express of the Triple-A West. With Texas he went 0–2 with a 5.13 ERA and 33 strikeouts over innings, and with Round Rock he posted a 2–0 record with a 3.74 ERA and 31 strikeouts over innings.[21]
He was designated for assignment on June 26, 2022. Evans cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Round Rock on July 1.[22] He spent the 2022 season back with Round Rock, going 2–3 with a 3.82 ERA over 33 innings. He elected free agency following the season on November 10.[23]
On December 8, 2022, Evans signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees. He did not play in a game for the organization and elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2023.[24]
On February 22, 2024, Evans signed with the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League.[25] However, he did not make an appearance for Yucátan, and signed with the Charleston Dirty Birds of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball on May 9.[26] In four games for the Dirty Birds, Evans struggled to a 12.46 ERA with three strikeouts across innings. On May 21, Evans was released by Charleston.[27]
Evans and professional baseball outfielder Anthony Alford are cousins.[28]