| Carlos Cortes | |
|---|---|
 Cortes with South Carolina | |
| Athletics – No. 26 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born:June 30, 1997 Orlando, Florida, U.S. | |
Bats: Left Throws: Switch | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 23, 2025, for the Athletics | |
| MLB statistics (through September 12,2025) | |
| Batting average | .328 |
| Home runs | 3 |
| Runs batted in | 10 |
| Teams | |
Carlos Andres Cortes (born June 30,1997) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2025.
Cortes attended Lake Howell High School in Winter Park,Florida. [1] Cortes was drafted by the New York Mets in the 20th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft but did not sign. He attended the University of South Carolina for two seasons (2017 and 2018) and played college baseball for the Gamecocks. In 2017,he played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. [2]
Cortes hit .265 with 15 home runs and 44 RBI his sophomore season in 2018 for the Gamecocks,and was ranked the 177th best prospect by Baseball America in the upcoming draft.
Cortes was drafted by the Mets in the third round,with the 83rd overall selection,of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft;he signed with them for a reported $1 million signing bonus on June 25,2018. [3] [4]
Cortes made his professional debut for the Low-A Brooklyn Cyclones,hitting .264/.338/.382 with four home runs and 24 RBI. [5] He spent the 2019 season with the High-A St. Lucie Mets. [6] Over 127 appearances for St. Lucie,Cortes slashed .255/.336/.397 with 11 home runs,68 RBI,and 26 doubles. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. [7] Instead,he played in the Australian Baseball League for the Sydney Blue Sox that winter. [8]
Cortes spent the 2021 season with the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies,where he batted .257/.332/.487 with 14 home runs and 57 RBI over 79 games. [9]
Cortes elected free agency following the season on November 4,2024. [10]
On November 18,2024,Cortes signed a minor league contract with the Athletics. [11] On July 15,2025,the Athletics added Cortes to their 40-man roster and immediately optioned him back to the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators. [12] On July 24,in a game against the Astros,top of 2nd inning and his 2nd career at-bat,Cortes got his first MLB RBI on a sacrifice fly. In quick succession,bottom of the 3rd,he threw out a runner at second from far right field,and top of the 4th singled for his first MLB hit. [13]