Amateur career

College

Russell was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 26th round, 782nd overall, in the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft. Opting not to sign, he instead decided to play college baseball at Ohio University, where he did so for three years.

Professional career

Chicago White Sox

He combined to go 4-2 with a 3.75 ERA in 17 appearances with six starts in his pro debut between the Rookie-Level Great Falls Voyagers and Class-A Kannapolis Intimidators in 2004. Russell went 4-0 with a 2.37 ERA to earn promotion to Kannapolis on August 23. He made two starts at Kannapolis.

In 2005 Russell made 24 starts for Class-A Kannapolis, going 9-7 with a 3.78 ERA. He ranked eighth among White Sox minor leaguers in ERA and finished second on the Intimidators in victories.

Russell was rated by Baseball America as the number seven prospect and possessing the best fastball in the White Sox farm system entering the 2006 season. He was 10-6 with a 3.43 ERA in 27 starts between Class-A Advanced Winston-Salem Warthogs and the Double-A Birmingham Barons. Russell ranked among the organizational leaders in starts, wins, ERA, strikeouts and innings pitched. Opponents hit .248, including a .210 mark by lefties against Russell. He began the season at Winston-Salem, going 7-3 with a 2.66 ERA in 17 starts. He was promoted to Birmingham on July 12, where he went 3-3 with a 4.75 ERA in 10 starts. He was 2-0 with a 3.65 ERA in 13 relief appearances with Scottsdale of the Arizona Fall League.

In 2007 he went 9-11 with a 4.80 ERA and one save in 38 games, in 20 starts, in his first full season with Double-A Birmingham. Russell began the season in the starting rotation before moving to the bullpen on July 21. He was 7-9 with a 4.61 ERA as a starter and 2-2 with a 5.60 ERA in relief. He made nine quality starts. Russell pitched for Phoenix in the Arizona Fall League, going 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA in 11 relief appearances. Russell was again rated by Baseball America as the number seven prospect and possessing the best fastball in the White Sox farm system entering the season. On November 20, 2007, Russell's contract was purchased by the White Sox, protecting him from the Rule 5 Draft.

Russell split the season between the Triple-A Charlotte Knights of the International League and the Major League White Sox in 2009. He was 4-0 with a 5.19 ERA in 22 relief appearances in his first season in the Major Leagues. The four wins came in his first 10 Major League outings and three of his four wins came at home and all against American League Central opponents. He made his Major League debut on June 17 against the Pittsburgh Pirates with one perfect inning pitched and his first strikeout against Jose Bautista. Russell earned his first major league win on July 1 as the White Sox defeated the Cleveland Indians 3-2 in 10 innings.

MINOR LEAGUE STATS

YEAR	TEAM	LG	LEVEL	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	SVO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	HB	BB	IBB	SO	AVG	WHIP	GO/AO	2004	2 teams	-	Minors	4	2	3.75	17	6	0	0	0	-	48.0	49	22	20	5	1	25	0	36	.272	1.54	-.--
2006	2 teams	-	Minors	10	6	3.43	27	27	0	0	0	0	149.2	139	68	57	10	10	58	0	108	.248	1.32	1.80
2009	2 teams	-	Minors	2	2	3.56	43	0	0	0	9	11	68.1	51	27	27	6	3	24	1	58	.212	1.10	1.83
2012	3 teams	-	Minors	3	3	7.02	44	0	0	0	1	5	50.0	66	43	39	2	4	34	2	49	.327	2.00	1.46
2007	BIR	SOU	AA	9	11	4.80	38	20	0	0	1	3	138.2	159	81	74	8	6	58	0	95	.290	1.56	1.64
2008	CHA	INT	AAA	3	2	2.89	25	0	0	0	0	0	37.1	28	13	12	3	1	19	0	28	.203	1.26	0.93
2008	CWS	AL	MLB	4	0	5.19	22	0	0	0	0	0	26.0	30	15	15	1	2	10	1	22	.291	1.54	0.87
2011	DUR	INT	AAA	0	1	4.24	15	0	0	0	1	3	17.0	14	8	8	2	0	12	0	14	.226	1.53	1.57
2005	KAN	SAL	A(Full)	9	7	3.78	24	24	0	0	0	0	126.1	116	61	53	10	6	55	0	82	.246	1.35	1.55
2014	LOU	INT	AAA	2	2	4.33	27	0	0	0	2	3	35.1	39	18	17	2	4	19	3	34	.289	1.64	1.87
2013	NOR	INT	AAA	3	3	2.37	42	3	0	0	5	7	60.2	52	19	16	2	5	33	1	59	.231	1.40	1.56
2010	POR	PCL	AAA	4	9	4.88	50	0	0	0	14	18	51.2	58	30	28	4	3	32	3	51	.280	1.74	1.36
2010	SD	NL	MLB	0	0	4.02	12	0	0	0	0	0	15.2	14	8	7	0	0	5	0	18	.255	1.21	1.55
2009	SD	NL	MLB	3	1	3.65	15	0	0	0	0	0	12.1	13	6	5	0	0	11	0	14	.260	1.95	0.64
2011	TB	AL	MLB	1	2	3.03	36	0	0	0	0	0	32.2	31	13	11	2	3	20	1	13	.254	1.56	1.58	Minors Career	12 teams		Minors	49	48	4.03	352	80	0	0	33	50	783.0	771	390	351	54	43	369	10	614	.260	1.46	1.59
MLB Career	-		MLB	8	3	3.95	85	0	0	0	0	0	86.2	88	42	38	3	5	46	2	67	.267	1.55	1.17

YEAR	TEAM	LG	LEVEL	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	SVO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	HB	BB	IBB	SO	AVG	WHIP	GO/AO

San Diego Padres

On July 31, 2009, Russell was traded to the San Diego Padres along with Aaron Poreda, Clayton Richard and Dexter Carter for Jake Peavy. In 15 games with the Padres he went 3-1 with a 3.65 ERA in 12 1⁄₃ innings pitched.

Tampa Bay Rays

On December 17, 2010 a deal was finalized that sent Russell, along with Cesar Ramos, Brandon Gomes and Cole Figueroa, to the Tampa Bay Rays for Jason Bartlett and a player to be named later.

Russell was designated for assignment on July 18, 2011.

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves signed Russell to a minor league contract on November 22, 2011. He was released on July 21, 2012.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

He subsequently signed with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and was assigned to the Salt Lake Bees.

Baltimore Orioles

He signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles for 2013 and was assigned to the Norfolk Tides.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks signed Russell to a minor league contract on November 29, 2013.

Cincinnati Reds

Russell signed a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds in May 2014. He was released on July 28, 2014.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]