A bucket of practice ball is seen during a Texas Rangers spring training workout at the team's training facility on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026, in Surprise, Ariz. (Smiley N. Pool/Staff Photographer)
A San Diego Padres minor league instructor who began his baseball career with the Rangers was detained by immigration authorities in El Paso and remained in ICE custody as of Tuesday morning, according to his family and the Padres. Oswaldo Pirela, 34, who oversees catching in the Padres system, was detained early Monday morning at El Paso International Airport, his sister Daniela Pirela told NBC. "We recently became aware of the detainment of minor league catching coordinator Oswaldo Pirela in El Paso, Texas," the Padres said in a statement Monday. "We are working to gather additional information and will not have any further comment at this time." A search for Pirela in the ICE database Tuesday morning showed no detainees matching his name or his listed date of birth. Pirela, who is from Venezuela, was originally signed by the Rangers in 2009 and spent three seasons in the Dominican Summer League, which constituted the entirety of his professional playing career. He hit .212 in 79 games playing primarily as a catcher and a first baseman. “My brother is not a criminal,” Pirela’s brother Jorgi Heli Pirela wrote on Instagram on Tuesday. “He is a son, a brother, a coach, a worker and a man who came to this country seeking protection after our family suffered persecution in Venezuela. “He followed the asylum process, built a life here, worked hard, contributed to his community, and was traveling for work when ICE detained him.” Subscribe Sign up for the Morning Roundup, a free newsletter delivering the latest North Texas news each morning. This article originally published at Former Texas Rangers minor leaguer detained by ICE in El Paso.