Birthplaces · Central America · 2005–2026
🇵🇦MLB Players from Panama
Every major leaguer born in Panama who took a plate appearance or threw a pitch in a published season, with what they have done since 2005 — and who is playing now.
- Players
- 37 2005–2026
- Active in 2026
- 8
- Total dbWAR
- 92.8
- Home runs
- 558
- Strikeouts
- 3,421 4,266.2 IP
- Batters / pitchers
- 19 / 18
Notable
Superlatives over the seasons published here, not over whole careers.
Carlos Ruiz2006–2017Most home runs206
Carlos Lee5,140 PAMost strikeouts708
Bruce Chen1,031.0 IPBest season5.1 WARCarlos Ruiz2012First to the majors1994
Olmedo SaenzHardest-hit ball114.6 mph
Edmundo Sosa2021Youngest in 202622
Leo BernalMost seasons here12Carlos Ruiz2006–2017The All-Panamanian Team
The best player born in Panama at each position since 2005, by the dbWAR he produced there. Positions nobody has filled are left open.
Carlos Ruiz19.8dbWAR1BOlmedo Saenz2.1dbWAR2B
Jose Macias-0.6dbWAR3B
Johan Camargo4.1dbWARSS
Rubén Tejada3.5dbWARLFCarlos Lee15.8dbWAR
Iván Herrera4.9dbWARAnd on the mound
How this is picked. Each player is filed at the one position he appeared at most often — so a shortstop who spent two years at third is a shortstop, and cannot hold both slots — and the spot goes to whoever produced the most dbWAR there. The figure on a card is therefore the value at that position rather than the career total shown elsewhere on this page: they differ for anyone who moved. Starting and relieving are counted separately for the same reason, on the share of each season's appearances that were starts. A slot needs 100 plate appearances or 20 innings to be claimed at all, which keeps a September call-up from becoming a first baseman. 16 position players are eligible here, with 4 starters and 10 relievers.
In the majors now
8 Panamanian-born players were on a major-league roster in 2026. Every column sorts.
| Iván Herrera | STL | DH | 26 | 161 | 717 | 19 | 69 | 8 | .243 | .354 | .383 | 115 | 2.7 |
| Miguel Amaya | CHC | C | 27 | 77 | 254 | 6 | 28 | 0 | .237 | .340 | .377 | 105 | 1.1 |
| José Caballero | NYY | SS | 30 | 131 | 456 | 14 | 51 | 34 | .231 | .290 | .363 | 78 | 0.9 |
| Leo Bernal | STL | C | 22 | 24 | 102 | 5 | 21 | 0 | .284 | .333 | .474 | 128 | 0.7 |
| Edmundo Sosa | PHI | LF | 30 | 84 | 250 | 9 | 44 | 4 | .247 | .283 | .429 | 89 | 0.6 |
| Leo Jiménez | MIA | 3B | 25 | 64 | 194 | 2 | 14 | 1 | .199 | .306 | .259 | 68 | -0.3 |
| Daniel Espino | CLE | 25 | 14 | 3 | 15.1 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 4.11 | 3.76 | 1.24 | 0.2 |
| Justin Lawrence | PIT | 32 | 37 | 0 | 34.1 | 0 | 1 | 43 | 7.34 | 6.98 | 1.95 | -0.9 |
Clubs in 2026STL 2CHC 1CLE 1PIT 1PHI 1MIA 1
The full 2026 leaderboards filter by birthplace too: batting · pitching — pick several countries at once there.
Since 2005
Career totals over the published seasons, ranked by dbWAR.
| Carlos Ruiz | 2006–2017 | 12 | 4,069 | 935 | 71 | 415 | 25 | .264 | 19.6 |
| Carlos Lee | 2005–2012 | 8 | 5,140 | 1,316 | 206 | 811 | 61 | .283 | 18.1 |
| Iván Herrera | 2022–2026 | 5 | 1,494 | 339 | 43 | 167 | 21 | .265 | 7.3 |
| Edmundo Sosa | 2018–2026 | 8 | 1,614 | 378 | 45 | 192 | 27 | .256 | 6.2 |
| José Caballero | 2023–2026 | 4 | 1,589 | 320 | 32 | 157 | 153 | .229 | 4.9 |
| Rubén Tejada | 2010–2019 | 9 | 2,396 | 530 | 10 | 158 | 16 | .250 | 4.3 |
| Johan Camargo | 2017–2023 | 7 | 1,359 | 316 | 37 | 161 | 2 | .254 | 3.8 |
| Miguel Amaya | 2023–2026 | 4 | 876 | 182 | 23 | 118 | 0 | .236 | 3.6 |
| Olmedo Saenz | 2005–2007 | 3 | 688 | 158 | 30 | 129 | 0 | .260 | 1.7 |
| Leo Bernal | 2026 | 1 | 102 | 27 | 5 | 21 | 0 | .284 | 0.7 |
| Luis Durango | 2009–2011 | 3 | 74 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 7 | .292 | 0.2 |
| Leo Jiménez | 2024–2026 | 3 | 436 | 76 | 7 | 34 | 1 | .203 | 0.1 |
| Julio Mosquera | 2005 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | -0.0 |
| Angel Chavez | 2005 | 1 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .263 | -0.0 |
| Christian Bethancourt | 2013–2024 | 8 | 1,301 | 284 | 35 | 135 | 12 | .229 | -0.3 |
| Jonathan Araúz | 2020–2023 | 4 | 262 | 43 | 8 | 31 | 0 | .184 | -0.4 |
| Allen Córdoba | 2017 | 1 | 227 | 42 | 4 | 15 | 2 | .208 | -0.5 |
| Einar Díaz | 2005–2006 | 2 | 142 | 29 | 1 | 17 | 0 | .218 | -0.5 |
| Jose Macias | 2005 | 1 | 190 | 45 | 1 | 13 | 4 | .254 | -0.6 |
| Mariano Rivera | 2005–2013 | 9 | 555.1 | 35 | 316 | 524 | 1.91 | 14.0 |
| Randall Delgado | 2011–2018 | 8 | 542.2 | 30 | 2 | 465 | 4.10 | 3.6 |
| Manny Corpas | 2006–2013 | 7 | 374.1 | 13 | 34 | 264 | 4.14 | 3.3 |
| Bruce Chen | 2005–2015 | 10 | 1,031.0 | 60 | 1 | 708 | 4.71 | 1.7 |
| Justin Lawrence | 2021–2026 | 6 | 246.0 | 13 | 15 | 254 | 5.34 | 0.9 |
| Enrique Burgos | 2015–2016 | 2 | 68.1 | 3 | 3 | 82 | 5.27 | 0.7 |
| Ariel Jurado | 2018–2020 | 3 | 181.0 | 12 | 0 | 105 | 5.97 | 0.7 |
| Severino González | 2015–2016 | 2 | 66.0 | 4 | 0 | 62 | 6.68 | 0.7 |
| Manny Acosta | 2007–2012 | 6 | 248.0 | 13 | 9 | 219 | 3.99 | 0.6 |
| Davis Romero | 2006 | 1 | 16.1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3.86 | 0.2 |
| Daniel Espino | 2026 | 1 | 15.1 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 4.11 | 0.2 |
| Jaime Barria | 2018–2023 | 6 | 462.2 | 22 | 0 | 351 | 4.38 | 0.1 |
| Ramiro Mendoza | 2005 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18.00 | -0.1 |
| Humberto Mejía | 2020–2021 | 2 | 32.1 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 6.68 | -0.2 |
| Alberto Baldonado | 2021 | 1 | 10.2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 8.44 | -0.2 |
| Dario Agrazal | 2019 | 1 | 73.1 | 4 | 0 | 41 | 4.91 | -0.3 |
| Paolo Espino | 2017–2024 | 6 | 265.2 | 5 | 1 | 217 | 5.12 | -0.4 |
| Javy Guerra | 2018–2023 | 6 | 63.0 | 3 | 0 | 45 | 6.43 | -0.9 |
By season
How many were in the majors each year, and what they produced.
| Season | Players | Batters | Pitchers | PA | HR | IP | SO | dbWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 1,973 | 55 | 49.2 | 68 | 5.0 |
| 2025 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1,218 | 40 | 18.2 | 23 | 6.2 |
| 2024 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 1,736 | 38 | 68.1 | 48 | 5.7 |
| 2023 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 1,198 | 33 | 181.0 | 157 | 2.3 |
| 2022 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 752 | 17 | 257.1 | 205 | 1.2 |
| 2021 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 463 | 9 | 220.2 | 179 | 2.2 |
| 2020 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 207 | 5 | 65.2 | 59 | 0.9 |
| 2019 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 294 | 7 | 287.0 | 203 | -1.0 |
| 2018 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 552 | 19 | 195.1 | 125 | 3.3 |
| 2017 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 773 | 11 | 91.1 | 83 | 1.1 |
| 2016 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 518 | 9 | 154.1 | 146 | 1.5 |
| 2015 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 901 | 7 | 136.0 | 144 | 1.7 |
| 2014 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 992 | 11 | 126.0 | 122 | 4.5 |
| 2013 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 612 | 5 | 343.0 | 241 | 2.4 |
| 2012 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 1,571 | 26 | 386.2 | 298 | 8.3 |
| 2011 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 1,521 | 24 | 298.1 | 221 | 9.1 |
| 2010 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 1,400 | 33 | 302.1 | 231 | 6.8 |
| 2009 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 1,061 | 35 | 199.2 | 173 | 6.7 |
| 2008 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 860 | 32 | 203.1 | 158 | 6.4 |
| 2007 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 1,258 | 42 | 183.0 | 161 | 7.1 |
| 2006 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 982 | 51 | 222.1 | 162 | 6.3 |
| 2005 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 1,394 | 49 | 276.2 | 214 | 5.1 |
Where in Panama
Birth cities with more than one major leaguer, most first.
About this page
37 major-league players born in Panama appear in this archive, between 2005 and 2026. 8 of them were on a major-league roster in 2026, down from 9 in 2005. Together they are worth 92.8 dbWAR, on 558 home runs and 3,421 strikeouts thrown.
The most valuable of them by our own measure is Carlos Ruiz, worth 19.6 dbWAR across 2006–2017. His best year was 2012, at 5.1 WAR. Olmedo Saenz has been in the majors longest of anyone here, since 1994.
Carlos Lee has hit the most home runs, 206. Bruce Chen has thrown the most strikeouts, 708. The hardest ball anyone from here has struck came off Edmundo Sosa's bat at 114.6 mph, in 2021. These are totals over the seasons published here rather than whole careers: a player who debuted before 2005 arrives mid-career, and his numbers start where the archive does.
Panama City has produced 17 of them, more than anywhere else in Panama. In 2026 they are spread across 6 clubs, 2 of them with St. Louis Cardinals.
Country here means country of birth, taken from each player's biographical record. It is not nationality and not who a player has represented internationally — the three disagree often enough to matter, and birthplace is the one this data actually holds. Every rate statistic and every dbWAR figure is computed from play-by-play using constants measured from each season's own data, so the numbers are era-correct without being copied from anywhere. See the derivation →
Every birthplace · 2026 batting leaders · 2026 pitching leaders · every player · every club · the 2026 standings.