Carlos Manuel Villanueva Paulino (born November 28, 1983) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres. He currently works as Special Assistant to the General Manager/Player Development for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Career
Milwaukee Brewers
Villanueva was signed by the San Francisco Giants in . He and Glenn Woolard were traded to the Milwaukee Brewers on March 30, 2004, for pitchers Wayne Franklin and Leo Estrella. He joined the Beloit Snappers, the Brewers Single A club.
As he worked his way through the Brewers' farm system, Villanueva was called up to the Brewers from Double-A Huntsville on May 22, . He made his Major League debut against the Cincinnati Reds on May 23, 2006, pitching a scoreless inning. On July 15, 2006, Villanueva combined with fellow Nashville Sounds pitchers Mike Meyers and Alec Zumwalt to throw a combined no-hitter against the Memphis Redbirds. Villanueva was recalled again, making his first career major league start for the Brewers against the Cincinnati Reds.
After a successful 2006 campaign, Villanueva entered the spring training in competition for the Brewers fifth spot in the starting rotation. Despite pitching well, he lost the job to Claudio Vargas. Instead, manager Ned Yost elected to put Villanueva into the bullpen as a middle relief pitcher. Villanueva pitched well in his new role and was occasionally used as a long relief pitcher when Elmer Dessens was placed on the DL. On July 2, Villanueva had a 6–0 win–loss record with a 2.64 earned run average (ERA). Despite his record, Villanueva was accustomed to only being used as a starting pitcher, and had never appeared in more than 25 games in his professional career. Through July and August, he posted a 1-3 record with an ERA of over 9, perhaps a sign of being overworked. Despite his struggles, he was still being used as a middle relief pitcher. On August 20, after pitching 3 perfect innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks and picking up his first career save, he was optioned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds to make two starts to "polish up" for a September call up when the rosters expand.
Villanueva spent a short part of the season as the closer while Trevor Hoffman recovered on the disabled list; however, after poor performances, the role was given to Todd Coffey instead.
He is currently serving with the Milwaukee Brewers as a Special Assistant to the General Manager/Player Development.
Toronto Blue Jays
On December 3, 2010, Villanueva was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for a player to be named later (cash).
After starting the season in the bullpen for the Blue Jays, he was moved to a position in the starting rotation to fill in for open spots previously filled by Brett Cecil and Jesse Litsch. On August 4, 2011, Villanueva was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right forearm strain. Villanueva was re-activated from the disabled list on August 31. Brian Tallet was designated for assignment to make room for Villanueva. Villanueva began the 2012 season as the long reliever in the Jays' bullpen, but was promoted to a starter after numerous injuries to the pitching staff. After posting a 6-1 record, Villanueva left the team for personal reasons on August 5. J. A. Happ started in place of Villanueva.
Chicago Cubs
On December 19, 2012, it was reported that Villanueva had agreed a two-year, $10 million contract with the Chicago Cubs. The deal became official on January 26, 2013, more than a month after it was initially agreed upon. Lendy Castillo was designated for assignment to make room for Villanueva on the 40-man roster. Dale Sveum made Villanueva the Cubs fifth starter in their rotation. His first game on April 6, a road game against the Atlanta Braves, resulted in a no decision.