| Mark Contreras | |
| Team: | Boston Red Sox |
| Position: | Outfielder |
| Birth Date: | 24 January 1995 |
| Birth Place: | Moreno Valley, California, U.S. |
| Bats: | Left |
| Throws: | Right |
| Debutleague: | MLB |
| Debutdate: | May 12 |
| Debutyear: | 2022 |
| Debutteam: | Minnesota Twins |
| Statleague: | MLB |
| Statyear: | 2022 season |
| Stat1label: | Batting average |
| Stat1value: | .121 |
| Stat2label: | Home runs |
| Stat2value: | 3 |
| Stat3label: | Runs batted in |
| Stat3value: | 6 |
| Teams: | |
Mark Anthony Contreras (born January 24, 1995) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Boston Red Sox organization. Contreras played college baseball at the University of California, Riverside. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins.
Contreras grew up in Moreno Valley, California and attended Canyon Springs High School. He was a member of the varsity baseball team and won four consecutive Inland Valley League championships with the team.[1]
Contreras attended the University of California, Riverside, and played college baseball for the UC Riverside Highlanders for four seasons. He was named second team All-Big West Conference after batting .332 with 14 doubles.[2] As a senior Contreras led the team with a .366 batting average and a .427 on-base percentage and was named first-team All-Big West.[3]
The Minnesota Twins selected Contreras in the ninth round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft.[4] He was assigned to the Fort Myers Miracle at the beginning of the 2019 season and was promoted to the Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos and was named a minor league Gold Glove award winner at the end of the year.[5] He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] Contreras began the 2021 season with the Double-A Wichita Wind Surge, where he played 19 games before being promoted to the Triple-A St. Paul Saints.[7]
The Twins promoted Contreras to their major league roster on May 10, 2022.[8] He made his major league debut on May 11, entering the game as a defensive replacement for Byron Buxton after play resumed following a rain delay.[9] On August 2, Contreras hit his first career home run, a solo shot off of Detroit Tigers pitcher Matt Manning.[10] Contreras played in 28 games for the Twins in 2022 and slashed .121/.148/.293 with three home runs and six RBIs.[11]
On December 20, 2022, the Twins designated Contreras for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Joey Gallo.[12] He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple–A St. Paul on January 3.[13] In 90 games for St. Paul, he batted .274/.352/.418 with 10 home runs, 54 RBI, and 23 stolen bases. On August 3, 2023, Contreras was released by the Twins organization.[14]
On November 11, 2023, Contreras signed a minor-league contract with the Boston Red Sox.[15] He was named a non-roster invitee to the team's spring training.[16]