Andy Ibáñez Velázquez (born April 3, 1993) is a Cuban professional baseball infielder for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Texas Rangers.
| Andy Ibáñez | |
|---|---|
 Ibáñez with the Round Rock Express in 2018 | |
| Detroit Tigers – No. 77 | |
| Infielder | |
| Born: April 3, 1993 Havana, Cuba | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 4, 2021, for the Texas Rangers | |
| MLB statistics (through April 5, 2024) | |
| Batting average | .262 |
| Home runs | 19 |
| Runs batted in | 78 |
| Teams | |
| |
Career edit
Ibáñez played for the Cuba national baseball team at the 2013 World Baseball Classic.[1] He played for Isla de la Juventud in the Cuban National Series. He defected from Cuba on November 1, 2014, to pursue a career in Major League Baseball.[2] He signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers on July 7, 2015.[3]
Texas Rangers edit
Ibáñez made his professional debut in 2016, spending time with both the Hickory Crawdads and Frisco RoughRiders, batting a combined .285 with 13 home runs, 66 RBIs, 15 stolen bases and an .804 OPS in 130 total games between the two clubs.[4][5] In 2017, he returned to Frisco and spent the whole season there, slashing .265/.323/400 with eight home runs and 29 RBIs in 82 games.[6] He missed six weeks of the season due to a finger injury.[7] Ibáñez spent the 2018 season with the Round Rock Express of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. He posted a batting line of .283/.344/.410/.754 with 12 home runs and 55 RBI in 125 games.[8] Ibáñez played for the Aguilas Cibaenas of the Dominican Winter League in the 2018 offseason.[9] Ibáñez received a non-roster invitation to 2019 major league spring training.[10] In 2019, Ibáñez suffered a strained right oblique during spring training,[11] and returned on April 6, when he was assigned to the Nashville Sounds.[12] He spent the 2019 season with Nashville, hitting .300/.371/.497/.868 with 20 home runs and 65 RBI.[13][14] Ibáñez did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[15]
On May 4, 2021, the Rangers selected Ibáñez’s contract to the 40-man roster and promoted him to the major leagues for the first time.[16] Ibáñez made his debut that day as a pinch hitter for David Dahl, and collected his first MLB hit off of Minnesota Twins reliever Taylor Rogers.[17] On June 21, Ibáñez recorded his first career home run, a 3-run shot off of Oakland Athletics starter Frankie Montas.[18] Over 76 games for Texas in 2021, Ibáñez hit .277/.321/.435/.756 with 7 home runs and 25 RBI.[19] Ibáñez split the 2022 season between Texas and Round Rock. Over 40 games for Texas he hit .219/.273/.277/.551 with 1 home run and 9 RBI; with Round Rock he hit .255/.330/.390/.720 with 6 home runs and 31 RBI.[20]
Detroit Tigers edit
On November 10, 2022, Ibáñez was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Tigers.[21] On January 6, 2023, Ibáñez was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens.[22] In 20 games with Toledo, Ibáñez hit .297/.418/.609 with 5 home runs and 16 RBI. On April 29, Ibáñez had his contract selected to the active roster.[23] On August 22, 2023, Ibáñez had the first multi-homer game of his career, hitting two home runs of Chicago Cubs starter Drew Smyly.[24]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Cuba World Baseball classic roster
- ^ Max Axisa (November 1, 2014). "Second baseman Andy Ibanez leaves Cuba". River Ave Blues. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- ^ Associated Press (July 7, 2015). "Andy Ibanez, 22-year-old Cuban leaguer, agrees to deal with Rangers". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- ^ Mark Parker. "A new life, a new game: An Interview with Andy Ibanez". MLB.comJune 10, 2016. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- ^ Chri James (June 27, 2016). "Frisco's Ibanez Adjusting To Double-A Ball". NBC 5 DFW. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- ^ "Andy Ibanez Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
- ^ RotoWire Staff (June 1, 2017). "Rangers' Andy Ibanez: Smacks two homers for Double-A squad". CBSSports.com. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
- ^ "El infielder Andy Ibañez acuerda con las Águilas Cibaeñas en la Liga Invernal Dominicana". CiberCuba. September 27, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- ^ "2018-19 Aguilas Cibaenas". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- ^ "Andy Ibanez". MiLB.com. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- ^ RotoWire Staff (March 7, 2019). "Rangers' Andy Ibanez: Out indefinitely with oblique". CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
- ^ "Sounds have added INF Andy Ibáñez from extended spring training". twitter. Nashville Sounds. March 7, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
- ^ Brian Stultz (December 16, 2019). "Huff, Bahr headline Rangers prospects". MiLB.com. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
- ^ Jamey Newberg (Oct 25, 2019). "Rangers 2019-20 offseason prospect rankings: Part 2". The Athletic. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
- ^ "2020 Minor League Season Canceled". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
- ^ Levi Weaver (May 5, 2021). "Andy Ibáñez made his debut, and the Rangers are insisting on being fun again". The Athletic. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
- ^ Kennedi Landry (May 6, 2021). "Rangers thrilled to have Ibáñez in bigs". MLB.com. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
- ^ Evan Grant (June 21, 2021). "Andy Ibanez's call-up was meant to 'jolt' the stagnant Rangers. He quickly delivered some thunder". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
- ^ Levi Weaver (October 6, 2021). "Grading the 2021 Texas Rangers: Position players edition". The Athletic. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
- ^ Postins, Matthew (October 28, 2022). "Rangers 40-Man Roster Wraps: Andy Ibanez". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
- ^ "Tigers Claim Andy Ibanez, Outright Six Players".
- ^ "Tigers Outright Four Players". yardbarker.com. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
- ^ "Tigers' Andy Ibañez: Summoned to majors". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
- ^ McCosky, Chris (August 22, 2023). "Tigers even series with Cubs; Andy Ibanez has career night with two homers". The Detroit News. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
External links edit
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Andy Ibáñez on Instagram