Former Jumbo Shrimp John Rooney makes major league debut

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Former Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp left-hander John Rooney made his major league debut for the Houston Astros, Sunday afternoon at Camden Yards. Rooney is the third former Jumbo Shrimp player this week to make his major league debut following Will Banfield and Maximo Acosta.

Rooney replaced Astros’ starter Spencer Arrighetti with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. After walking Samuel Basallo, he struck out Dylan Beavers for his first MLB strikeout. Rooney finished his outing with 1.1 innings of relief, allowing one run on one hit with a walk and a pair of strikeouts in Houston’s 3-2 loss to Baltimore.

Originally drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third round of the 2018 draft out of Hofstra University, Rooney pitched in the Dodgers organization for five seasons, reaching as high as Triple-A Oklahoma City.

After becoming a free agent on November 4 2024, the southpaw signed with the Marlins as a minor league free agent nine days later. He made 38 relief appearances with the Jumbo Shrimp, posting a 2-1 record with a 2.45 ERA. In 33.0 innings, he allowed just nine earned runs on 19 hits while walking 23 against 45 strikeouts. International League opponents batted just .174 against him.

Rooney was traded to the Houston Astros on August 3, 2025 in exchange for cash. He made five relief appearances for Triple-A Sugarland before being recalled by Houston on August 24.

Rooney is the 18th former Jumbo Shrimp to debut in the major leagues in 2025, following outfielder Jake Mangum (March 30, Tampa Bay Rays), right-hander Luarbert Arias (March 31, Miami Marlins), left-handers Patrick Monteverde (April 19, Miami Marlins) and Cade Gibson (April 20, Miami Marlins), catcher Agustín Ramírez (April 21, Miami Marlins), infielder Ronny Simon (April 21, Miami Marlins), right-handers Elvis Alvarado (May 9, Athletics) and Nic Enright (May 25, Cleveland Guardians), outfielders Victor Mesa Jr. (May 26, Miami Marlins) and Heriberto Hernandez (May 30, Miami Marlins), infielder Jack Winkler (May 31, Miami Marlins) right-hander Robinson Piña (June 20, Miami Marlins), left-hander Josh Simpson (June 21, Miami Marlins), outfielders Troy Johnston (July 29, Miami Marlins) and Jakob Marsee (August 1, Miami Marlins), infielder Acosta (August 19, Miami Marlins) and catcher Banfield (August 23, Cincinnati Reds). A total of 1,042 players have donned both a Jacksonville uniform and played in the major leagues. The history of Minor League Baseball in Jacksonville dates back to 1904.

ABOUT THE JUMBO SHRIMP: The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins and compete in the International League. The team calls VyStar Ballpark home for baseball but also a wide variety of additional community focused events with a goal of providing Affordable, Family, FUN to Northeast Florida. Winners of many marketing and sales awards and recognition since the team was rebranded prior to the 2017 season, the Jumbo Shrimp continually lead the state of Florida in attendance across all minor league professional sports organizations.