Mychal Antonio Givens (born May 13, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent.
He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, and New York Mets.
[citation needed] In 2007, Givens was selected to play for the United States 18-and-under national baseball team.
[2] At the Aflac Banquet, Givens won the Jackie Robinson Award as the nation's top high school player.
[17] With the Bowie Baysox of the Class AA Eastern League, Givens began the 2015 season with a 3–1 win–loss record, a 1.60 ERA and 12 saves with 54 strikeouts in 39+1⁄3 innings.
[18][19] He made his major league debut on June 24, pitching one scoreless inning, striking out one batter, and was optioned back to Bowie the next day.
[21] On July 31, he was recalled after the Orioles traded Tommy Hunter and designated Bud Norris for assignment.
He pitched 12⁄3 innings while striking out two batters and earning his first career Major League win against the Detroit Tigers.
He ended the month of April, having appeared in 12 games, throwing 12 innings, striking out 21, walking seven, and pitching to a 3.00 ERA.
According to STATS, LLC, Givens was the first Orioles pitcher to begin his Major League career with seven consecutive wins as a reliever.
Givens made his postseason debut in the Wild Card Game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
[22] Givens helped Team USA to win the gold medal at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, as he made three relief pitching appearances.
[23][24] Out of relief, Givens earned his first victory of the 2017 season on April 8, against the New York Yankees after throwing a perfect inning while striking out two batters.
With a 0–7 record in 69 appearances, he also had 9 saves in 13 attempts, eight of ten as the team's closer after the late-July fire sale trades of Zach Britton, Brad Brach and Darren O'Day.
[26] The Orioles traded Givens to the Colorado Rockies for Tyler Nevin, Terrin Vavra and a player to be named later on August 30, 2020.
On July 28, 2021, the Rockies traded Givens to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Case Williams and pitcher Noah Davis.
[32] On December 21, 2022, Givens signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles that includes a mutual option for 2024.