Andy Ibáñez

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.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Ibáñez and the second or maternal family name is Velázquez.
Andy Ibáñez
Ibáñez with the Round Rock Express in 2018
Detroit Tigers – No. 77
Infielder
Born: (1993-04-03) April 3, 1993
Havana, Cuba
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 4, 2021, for the Texas Rangers
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.261
Home runs19
Runs batted in75
Teams

Career

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

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

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

References
  1. Cuba World Baseball classic roster
  2. Max Axisa (November 1, 2014). "Second baseman Andy Ibanez leaves Cuba". River Ave Blues. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  3. Associated Press (July 7, 2015). "Andy Ibanez, 22-year-old Cuban leaguer, agrees to deal with Rangers". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  4. Mark Parker. "A new life, a new game: An Interview with Andy Ibanez". MLB.comJune 10, 2016. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  5. Chri James (June 27, 2016). "Frisco's Ibanez Adjusting To Double-A Ball". NBC 5 DFW. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  6. "Andy Ibanez Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  7. RotoWire Staff (June 1, 2017). "Rangers' Andy Ibanez: Smacks two homers for Double-A squad". CBSSports.com. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  8. "El infielder Andy Ibañez acuerda con las Águilas Cibaeñas en la Liga Invernal Dominicana". CiberCuba. September 27, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  9. "2018-19 Aguilas Cibaenas". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  10. "Andy Ibanez". MiLB.com. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  11. RotoWire Staff (March 7, 2019). "Rangers' Andy Ibanez: Out indefinitely with oblique". CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  12. "Sounds have added INF Andy Ibáñez from extended spring training". twitter. Nashville Sounds. March 7, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  13. Brian Stultz (December 16, 2019). "Huff, Bahr headline Rangers prospects". MiLB.com. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  14. Jamey Newberg (Oct 25, 2019). "Rangers 2019-20 offseason prospect rankings: Part 2". The Athletic. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  15. "2020 Minor League Season Canceled". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  16. 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.
  17. Kennedi Landry (May 6, 2021). "Rangers thrilled to have Ibáñez in bigs". MLB.com. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  18. 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.
  19. Levi Weaver (October 6, 2021). "Grading the 2021 Texas Rangers: Position players edition". The Athletic. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  20. Postins, Matthew (October 28, 2022). "Rangers 40-Man Roster Wraps: Andy Ibanez". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
  21. "Tigers Claim Andy Ibanez, Outright Six Players".
  22. "Tigers Outright Four Players". yardbarker.com. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  23. "Tigers' Andy Ibañez: Summoned to majors". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  24. 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.
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