Daniel Ricardo Camarena is an American professional baseball pitcher in the San Diego Padres organization. He was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 20th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft. Listed at 6 feet 0 inches (1.83 m) and 210 pounds (95 kg), he throws and bats left-handed. Camarena spent a day on the Yankees' active roster in 2019, but did not appear in a game, earning him the distinction of being a "phantom ballplayer". He remained a phantom ballplayer until he made his MLB debut with the Padres in 2021. On July 8, 2021, he became the first relief pitcher to hit a grand slam since 1985, and the first pitcher since 1898 to do so on his first hit.
Camarena pitching for the San Diego Padres in 2021
A phantom ballplayer is either a baseball player who is incorrectly listed in source materials as playing in a Major League Baseball (MLB) game, often the result of typographical or clerical errors, or a player who spent time on an MLB active roster without ever appearing in an MLB contest during his career. Most of the first form of phantom players date from the 19th or early 20th century, with at least one showing up as late as World War II.
Brian Jeroloman spent a month with the 2011 Toronto Blue Jays without appearing in a game.
Pete Compton of the St. Louis Browns, now credited with the plate appearance of "Lou Proctor"
Bill Sharman, who was briefly on the roster of the 1951 Brooklyn Dodgers
Shawn Zarraga was briefly on the active roster of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016.
