José Paniagua

José Paniagua was a hard-throwing pitcher from the Dominican Republic who had tons of potential. Hard luck and personal tragedy derailed his career, but he was still able to spend eight years in the big leagues with four different teams. Paniagua was a big part of the Seattle Mariners teams that reached the ALCS in 2000 and 2001, appearing in a combined 129 games, third most on the team during that time span.

José Luis Paniagua Sánchez was born on August 20, 1973, in either the town of San José de Ocoa or the province of the same name in the Dominican Republic. Paniagua (his father’s surname) attended Liceo Nuestra Senora del Altagracia, a Catholic institution, in Santo Domingo and was signed by Expos scout Jesús Alou in September 1990. Paniagua pitched in the Dominican Summer League in 1991 and 1992.1

Paniagua, ranked by Baseball America as one of Montreal’s Top 10 prospects, pitched for the Expos in the Rookie Gulf Coast League in 1993. He started four games and fashioned a 3–0 record with an ERA of 0.67. The right-handed hurler’s prospect status was helped by a 96-mph fastball.2

He was promoted to West Palm Beach in the Class-A advanced Florida State League in 1994 but started the season on the disabled list due to tendinitis in his right shoulder.3 After returning from the injury in early May, Paniagua earned two consecutive wins, pitching seven strong innings in both contests. Paniagua was one of the top starters on a staff that included Everett Stull, Steve Falteisek, Neil Weber, and Rick DeHart, all of whom would go on to pitch in the majors. Paniagua went 9–9 with an ERA of 3.64 in 26 starts. His contract was purchased by Montreal after the season, and he was added to the Expos’ 40-man roster.

In 1995, Paniagua pitched in the Expos’ big-league spring training camp but was sent down to double-A Harrisburg in the Eastern League to start the regular season. Early in May, he was the talk of the league when, in a game against Portland, he gave up a home run, nearly hit one of the next batters with some chin music, and then got tossed by the home-plate umpire. After being told he was no longer needed in the contest, Paniagua pulled up first base and second base and threw them into the outfield, à la Lou Piniella.4 He struggled over the next month, dropping five straight decisions before picking up a win in early June. Two months later, Paniagua was ejected from another game when he hit a batsman after allowing a triple.5

The season ended dreadfully for Paniagua, who went 7–12 with an ERA of 5.34 in 25 starts. Despite the tough season, he was promoted to triple-A Ottawa in September and made his debut in the International League playoffs, where he worked seven innings in a 4–2 victory over Norfolk on September 10.6

In 1996, Paniagua impressed the Expos’ coaching staff in spring training. “The best stuff I’ve seen of a kid in this organization,” pitching coach Joe Kerrigan said. “He has a sinking fastball that just explodes. He threw one past the catcher—past his glove and through his legs.”7

Despite the high praise, Paniagua was sent down to the minors but was immediately called up to Montreal to replace the injured Carlos Pérez. In his major-league debut at Riverfront Stadium against Cincinnati on April 4, Paniagua notched his first big-league win. He pitched five innings, gave up four hits and one run, walked three, and struck out one in a 10–2 victory over the Reds. When asked about his pitcher, manager Felipe Alou said, “Great poise. Fearless. We all knew that. He looked like a man should look when he goes out there in the middle of the diamond.”8

Paniagua made two more starts in April: he took a 4–1 loss at St. Louis in which he didn’t pitch badly (5 IP, 7 H, 1 ER) and then got hammered in a game against Philadelphia (2 IP, 6 H, 5 ER). The next day, Paniagua was sent back to double-A Harrisburg as Pérez came off from the disabled list. “Arms like that don’t come along very often,” Kerrigan said of Paniagua. “He’s special.”9

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Paniagua won all three starts at Harrisburg and was promoted to triple-A Ottawa in early May. Three weeks later, he was recalled by Montreal to replace injured starter Tavo Álvarez. In his first outing at Candlestick Park against the Giants on May 20, Paniagua retired the first three batters. In the bottom of the second, Matt Williams lined a shot off the pitcher’s right wrist. He came out of the game and went on the 15-day disabled list with a bruised wrist.10

Upon his return, Paniagua made a relief appearance for Ottawa on June 20 and was roughed up, allowing four hits and six runs in two innings. After that outing, he pitched well before contracting chicken pox in late July. Paniagua made 14 starts for the Lynx, posting a 9–5 record and a 3.18 ERA, earning him another major-league call-up in mid-August.

He made a pair of relief appearances before being handed the ball for a start on August 30 against San Diego. Paniagua was gone after three innings, giving up eight hits and five runs (two earned) and taking the loss in a 6–0 shutout by the Padres. “He had good, hard stuff in the bullpen, but when he got to the mound, he was a kid. Pressing,” manager Alou said.11

Paniagua pitched great in his next outing (8 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K) in a 6–0 win over San Francisco in which he pitched no-hit ball through seven innings before tiring. Noting that Paniagua had lost 12 pounds from his bout with chicken pox, Alou said, “I think I went too far with him … I had to think about his weakened condition.”12

His final five starts were a mixed bag, and Paniagua ended with a 2–4 record and 3.53 ERA in 11 starts and two relief outings. Even though he had the “big” fastball and great movement, he only struck out 27 batters in 51 innings.

Paniagua began the 1997 season in the big-league camp but was sent down in mid-March to the minor-league camp. While on extended spring training due to the undisclosed illness of his father,13 he began the season at high-A West Palm Beach, where he had been three years earlier. After two starts, he moved up to Ottawa.

Bad luck kept following Paniagua, as he had two root canal procedures performed in May.14 On June 12, Paniagua pitched seven innings of solid ball in a 6–3 win over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and hit his first and only professional home run. “I got the ball right here,” said a delighted Paniagua, through interpreter Rico Rossy. “That’s my first home run ever. Never hit a home run before.”15

Paniagua was called up in mid-August to Montreal, and in what was a continuation of his bad-luck season, he lost his luggage on his flight to San Francisco. Not only did he not report the fact his luggage was missing, he couldn’t even remember what airline he flew on.16 In the final six weeks of the season, Paniagua made three starts in nine appearances and struggled mightily, giving up 29 hits in 18 innings and recording an ERA of 12.00.

In mid-November, Paniagua was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the expansion draft. The day before Thanksgiving, Paniagua’s 21-year-old wife, Sussy, died from heart failure. The couple had two children, Alexandra and Caroline.17 Paniagua had begun dating Sussy when he was 16 years old; their first meeting came when he was pitching in the Dominican League. The same day that Sussy died, Paniagua’s brother was shot twice.18

The Devil Rays originally had planned on giving Paniagua a shot at a starting job in 1998. However, after pitching only six innings in spring training, Tampa Bay put the hard-luck pitcher on waivers as he was out of minor-league options. “Last year was a mess,” Paniagua said during spring training. “When [Sussy] was sick, I couldn’t concentrate. Half my mind was in the Dominican, half was in America.”19

“He’s got arm strength and he’s a class act,” Devil Rays manager Larry Rothschild said. “But it just came down to decisions.”20

The Mariners selected Paniagua off waivers and sent him to begin the year at triple-A Tacoma in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). He was a solid member of the bullpen, saving five games in 44 appearances and posting a 3–1 record and an impressive 2.77 ERA before he was called up to Seattle in mid-August. He registered his first major-league save in a 3–2 win over the Chicago White Sox on August 23. Paniagua pitched in several high-leverage games the rest of the way, earning two wins, one save, six holds, and an ERA of 2.05 in his 18-game stint.

In 1999, Paniagua was second in appearances on the Mariners with 59, only behind close friend and fellow countryman José Mesa. “I see a lot of him in me when I was younger,” Mesa said.21 Paniagua saved three games and had six wins against 11 losses, and an ERA of 4.06.

In each of the next two seasons, Seattle made it to the ALCS and faced the New York Yankees. The Mariners lost both times. One historic highlight of the 2001 season was the 116 wins posted by the Mariners, which tied the 1906 Chicago Cubs for most in a single season.

Paniagua had eight saves and seven wins across 129 relief appearances during the 2000 and 2001 seasons. In 2000, he pitched seven times in the postseason against the White Sox and Yankees, going 1–1 with an ERA of 2.70. The following postseason, he did not fare as well against Cleveland and New York, registering an ERA of 17.47 across five games and 5 2/3 innings.

In mid-December, the Mariners traded Paniagua and fellow pitchers Brian Fuentes and Denny Stark to Colorado for third baseman Jeff Cirillo. An earlier trade with Detroit for utilityman Shane Halter had fallen through. Three months later, Paniagua was traded to Detroit for minor-league infielder Ronnie Merrill and Victor Santos.

The Tigers ticketed Paniagua for their set-up relief corps, but that plan went awry as he struggled early in Detroit and was sent down to triple-A Toledo in late July after posting an ERA of 6.19 across 35 games. He accepted the assignment and cleared waivers. Paniagua returned to form in Toledo, and after 12 games and an ERA of 1.15, he was promoted to Detroit a month later. He pitched in six games for the Tigers, but after he gave up three hits—including a home run—and two runs in 1 1/3 innings against the Yankees on September 5, he was given his release.

In February 2003, the jobless Paniagua auditioned for a spot in the Red Sox organization, but they declined to sign him.22 A few days later he signed a minor-league contract with Tampa Bay and reunited with former manager Piniella. Paniagua pitched in one game but was released a week later.

He caught on with Veracruz in the Mexican League and got roughed up in six appearances, going 0–2 with a 9.45 ERA. In August, Paniagua pitched for the Dominican Republic in the Pan American Games, which were played that year in Santo Domingo. His team was knocked out in the quarterfinals by Cuba and finished with a 2–2 record.

Late in August, the White Sox signed Paniagua to a minor-league contract and assigned him to triple-A Charlotte in the International League. He pitched poorly in three games for the Knights but was called up to Chicago when rosters expanded in September.

Entering play on September 9, the White Sox held a narrow one-game lead in the AL Central and hosted the second-place Minnesota Twins at US Cellular Field. With the White Sox holding an 8–2 lead going into the top of the ninth, Chicago manager Jerry Manuel brought in Paniagua to finish off the game… or so he thought.

Paniagua gave up a ground-rule double to Lew Ford, who scored one batter later on Denny Hocking’s triple. Pinch-hitter Justin Morneau singled to knock in Hocking, making the score 8–4. Matt LeCroy popped to second base for the first out before Paniagua walked Corey Koskie on four pitches. When Manuel came out to remove his pitcher, Paniagua got into it with home-plate umpire Mark Carlson and was promptly ejected. Paniagua made an obscene gesture toward the ump as he stalked off the field. After the game, Manuel said, “That’s something we definitely don’t condone and definitely have to address.”23 And they did, as Paniagua was waived the next day.

In July 2004, Paniagua tried out for Philadelphia but failed to impress and was not signed to a contract. He did not play baseball in 2004, but in 2005, he pitched one inning for the Yankees’ extended spring training team.24

In 2006, Paniagua pitched 12 games in the Chinese Professional Baseball League and then pitched one game in the Dominican Winter League. He resurfaced in the New York Mets’ spring training camp in 2007 but was released in late March. The Pittsburgh Pirates signed him to a minor-league contract in July, and he pitched in seven games for double-A Altoona and the rookie league Gulf Coast League Pirates before being released. He also pitched in the Dominican Summer League and Dominican Winter League that season.

Paniagua, at age 34, played for two different teams in different independent leagues in 2008. He pitched for St. George (Utah) Roadrunners in the Golden Baseball League and later for the Long Island Ducks in the Atlantic League.

In his final season of organized baseball, Paniagua pitched twice for Escogido in the Dominican Winter League during the 2008–09 campaign. He pitched two-thirds of an inning and allowed two hits and two runs.

In eight major-league seasons, Paniagua compiled a record of 18–21 and ERA of 4.49. He had 14 starts among his 270 appearances, along with 13 saves. He averaged seven strikeouts per nine innings and allowed 4.7 walks per nine innings.

Paniagua is said to be living in his birthplace of San José de Ocoa, supporting local youth baseball leagues and mentoring young players.25

Attempts to reach Paniagua for further information have proven fruitless.

Last revised: April 8, 2026

SOURCES

In addition to the sources credited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for background information on players, teams, and seasons.

NOTES

1 1996 Montreal Expos Media Guide, 137.

2 Chuck Otterson, “W.P.B. Expos pitch for nostalgia,” Palm Beach (Florida) Post, April 3, 1994: 2C.

3 Chuck Otterson, “Two players in Nabholz trade expected to boost W.P.B. Expos,” Palm Beach Post, April 7, 1994: 6C.

4 Andy Shay, “Senators split rain-induced twinbill,” Sentinel (Carlisle, Pennsylvania), May 4, 1995: C1.

5 Vickie Fulkerson, “Gators can’t make an 8-0 lead stand up,” New London (Connecticut) Day, July 15, 1995: D1.

6 “Tides fall to Lynx in opener,” Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch, September 11, 1995: C7.

7 “Alou, too, keeps promise to arrive in better shape,” Montreal Gazette, February 24, 1996: C6.

8 “Expos Find Answers, Reds Have Questions,” Los Angeles Times, April 5, 1996: C5.

9 Dan Graziano, “Umpires rebuff Schott’s ill-timed apology attempt,” Palm Beach Post, April 21, 1996: 8C.

10 Jeff Blair, “Few good signs for Expos,” Montreal Gazette, May 22, 1996: E1.

11 Jeff Blair, “Expos Story,” Montreal Gazette, September 1, 1996: B3.

12 Ian MacDonald, “Paniagua near-perfect,” Montreal Gazette, September 5, 1996: D1.

13 Bruce Deachman, “Braves leave Lynx out in the cold,” Ottawa Citizen, April 15, 1997: D5.

14 Ed Gonfer, “Lynx power backs Paniagua pitching,” Ottawa Citizen, June 3, 1997: B3.

15 Paul Sokoloski, “Ottawa pitcher rough on Barons,” Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania), July 13, 1997: 15C.

16 Jeff Blair, “Expos Story,” Montreal Gazette, August 17, 1997: B3.

17 Kevin Wells, “Late wife gives pitcher strength,” Tampa Tribune, March 9, 1998: Sports-1.

18 Blaine Newnham, “Personal Tragedy Past, Paniagua Ready In Pen,” Seattle Times, March 4, 1999 https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19990304/2947378/personal-tragedy-past-paniagua-ready-in-pen, accessed June 20, 2024. The author was unable to determine his brother’s name or how serious the shooting was.

19 Wells, “Late wife gives pitcher strength.”

20 Joe Henderson, “Devil Rays decide on opening-day roster,” Tampa Tribune, March 27, 1998: Sports-10.

21 Newnham, “Personal Tragedy Past.”

22 “Brazelton’s knee feeling better,” Tampa Bay Times, February 28, 2003: 6C.

23 “What a relief,” Chicago Tribune, September 10, 2003: 13.

24 “Too late: Cardinals get a victory over Red Sox,” South Florida Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), June 7, 2005: 10C.

25 Baseballbiographies.com.