Christian Binford
Mark Christian Binford is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent.Career
Binford had Tommy John surgery as a sophomore at Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania in 2009. He signed to play at the University of Virginia but was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 30th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft, and chose to sign with the Royals. He made his professional debut in 2012 for the Burlington Royals. In eight starts, he went 2–3 with a 2.02 earned run average and 31 strikeouts in 40 innings. In 2013 Binford started 23 games for the Lexington Legends, going 8–7 with a 2.67 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 135 innings. Binford started 2014 with the Wilmington Blue Rocks and was promoted to the Class AA Northwest Arkansas Naturals in July. He was selected to play in the 2014 All-Star Futures Game in Minneapolis, where he pitched a scoreless inning for the U.S. team.
Binford was promoted to the Omaha Storm Chasers on August 17. He tossed two scoreless innings of relief in his debut, which included three strikeouts and one hit allowed. He was the starting pitcher for Omaha in the 2014 Triple-A Baseball National Championship Game, which the Storm Chasers won, 4-2 over the Pawtucket Red Sox. In 26 games between the three teams, he posted an 8-7 record and 2.88 ERA. In 2015, he played for both Northwest Arkansas and Omaha, compiling a 5-11 record and 5.22 ERA in 22 starts, and in 2016, he returned to both Northwest Arkansas and Omaha, pitching to a combined 6-14 record and 5.17 ERA in 25 games. Binford spent 2017 with Northwest Arkansas and Omaha once again, going 8-10 with a 6.11 ERA in 27 games.
On December 1, 2017, Binford signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles. He was assigned to the Bowie BaySox.
On August 3, 2018, Binford was traded to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for cash considerations. He was assigned to the Double-A Erie SeaWolves. He re-signed a minor league deal on October 31, 2018. He was later released on December 18, 2018.
