| Joey Loperfido | |
| Team: | Toronto Blue Jays |
| Number: | 9 |
| Position: | Outfielder |
| Birth Date: | 11 May 1999 |
| Birth Place: | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Bats: | Left |
| Throws: | Right |
| Debutleague: | MLB |
| Debutdate: | April 30 |
| Debutyear: | 2024 |
| Debutteam: | Houston Astros |
| Statleague: | MLB |
| Statyear: | August 27, 2024 |
| Stat1label: | Batting average |
| Stat1value: | .231 |
| Stat2label: | Home runs |
| Stat2value: | 4 |
| Stat3label: | Runs batted in |
| Stat3value: | 21 |
| Teams: |
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Mario Joseph Loperfido (born May 11, 1999) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2024 with the Houston Astros.
Loperfido attended Haddonfield Memorial High School in Haddonfield, New Jersey, and played college baseball at Duke University. In 2019, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[1]
The Houston Astros selected Loperfido in the seventh round of the 2021 Major League Baseball draft.[2] He made his professional debut in 2021 with the Single–A Fayetteville Woodpeckers and spent 2022 with Fayetteville and High–A Asheville Tourists.[3] He started 2023 with Asheville, and was promoted to the Double–A Corpus Christi Hooks after eight games.[4] Loperfido began the 2024 season with the Triple–A Sugar Land Space Cowboys. In 25 games, he hit .287/.393/.713 with 13 home runs, 27 RBI, and five stolen bases.
On April 30, 2024, Loperfido was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[5] In his debut, he hit a two RBI single against Cleveland Guardians pitcher Carlos Carrasco. He hit his first career home run on May 16, against the Oakland Athletics.[6] On May 27, Loperfido was demoted to Sugar Land to make room on the roster for José Abreu. On June 14, Abreu was released from the team. As result, a week later, Loperfido returned to the Major League team.[7] In 38 total games for Houston, he slashed .236/.299/.359 with two home runs, 16 RBI, and two stolen bases.
On July 29, 2024, Loperfido, Jake Bloss, and Will Wagner were traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for pitcher Yusei Kikuchi.[8]