Erick Johan Aybar (born January 14, 1984) is a Dominican professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

who is a free agent. He has played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

, Detroit Tigers and

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

Professional career

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Aybar was signed by the then

Anaheim Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

as an amateur free agent in 2002. He made his professional debut with the rookie ball

Provo Angels Provo or Provos may refer to: In geography In the United States * Provo, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Provo, South Dakota, an unincorporated community * Provo Township, Fall River County, South Dakota * Provo, Utah, a city ** Provo P ...

. He spent the 2003 season with the Single-A

Cedar Rapids Kernels The Cedar Rapids Kernels are Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and play their home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Kernels are owned ...

, slashing .308/.346/.446 with 6 home runs and 57 RBI. In 2004, Aybar played for the High-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, batting .330/.370/.485 in 136 games with career-highs in home runs (14) and RBI (65). In 2005 he played for the Double-A

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, also known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are affiliated with the Seattle Mariners as members of the Texas League. History The team succeeded ...

, hitting .303/.350/.445 with 9 home runs and 45 RBI. He began the 2006 season in Triple-A with the

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. They are located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and play their home games at Smith's Ballpark. The ballpark o ...

. Aybar made his MLB debut on May 16, 2006 a pinch runner against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

. He recorded his first major League hit, in his first start, on May 20, 2006 against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

, a single to right field in the fourth inning off of

Brett Tomko Brett Daniel Tomko (born April 7, 1973) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, Los Ange ...

. Aybar played in 34 major league games in 2006, notching 10 hits in 40 at-bats. Aybar hit his first career major league

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

on September 25, 2007, in a game against the Texas Rangers. On the year, Aybar slashed .237/.279/.289 with 1 homer and 19 RBI. Aybar played in 98 games in 2008, with a batting line .277/.314/.384 with 3 home runs and 39 RBI. On September 5, 2009, Aybar tied a franchise record for most triples in a game with two against the Kansas City Royals. On September 8, 2009, Aybar had his first career walk-off hit, against the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

. In 2009, Aybar hit .312 (eighth in the AL) and posted the fourth-best OPS (.776) of all AL shortstops. Aybar played in 138 games in 2010, batting .253/.306/.330 with 5 home runs and 29 RBI. The next year, he batted .279/.322/.421 with career-highs in home runs (10) and RBI (59) in 143 contests. After the season on November 1, 2011, Aybar was awarded his first Rawlings Gold Glove Award. In 141 games in 2012, Aybar batted .290/.324/.416 with 8 home runs and 45 RBI. In 2013, Aybar appeared in 138 contests, with a batting line of .271/.301/.382. On July 10, 2014, Aybar was named an All Star for the first time in his career, replacing injured Kansas City Royals outfielder

Alex Gordon Alexander Jonathan Gordon (born February 10, 1984) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played his entire career for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2007 to 2020. Prior to playing professio ...

. Aybar was hitting .283 with six home runs and 45 RBIs through 89 games at the time of his selection. He finished the season hitting .278 with seven home runs and 68 RBI in a career-high 156 games played. In 2015, Aybar slashed .270/.301/.338 in 156 games, along with 3 home runs and 44 RBI.

Atlanta Braves

On November 12, 2015, the Angels traded Aybar, Sean Newcomb, Chris Ellis and cash to the

for Andrelton Simmons and José Briceño . In 97 games for Atlanta, Aybar hit 2 home runs and 26 RBI with a batting line of .242/.293/.313.

Detroit Tigers

On August 16, 2016, the Braves traded Aybar to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Mike Avilés and Kade Scivique. At the time of the trade, Aybar was batting an average of .242 with two home runs and twenty-six RBI. Aybar mustered 20 hits in 80 at-bats in 29 games for Detroit. On November 3, 2016, Aybar elected free agency.

San Diego Padres

On February 17, 2017, Aybar signed a minor league contract with the

organization, receiving a non-roster invitation to spring training. Aybar made the Opening Day roster for the Padres in 2018, and was selected to the 40-man roster on March 28. On April 18, 2017, Aybar made a pitching appearance for the Padres in a blowout loss against the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

, and got catcher Chris Herrmann to hit into the final out of the game. On July 24, Aybar suffered a fractured foot and missed a month and a half as a result. With the Padres in 2017 he batted .234/.300/.348 with 7 home runs and 22 RBI in 108 games.

Minnesota Twins

On February 24, 2018, Aybar signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins organization. He opted out of his contract and became a free agent on March 23.

Acereros de Monclova

On July 13, 2018, Aybar signed with the

Acereros de Monclova The Acereros de Monclova (English: Monclova Steelers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico. Their home ballpark is Estadio de Béisbol Monclova, which has a capacity of 11,000 people. The Ace ...

of the

Mexican Baseball League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five t ...

. In 43 games for Monclova, Aybar slashed .291/.354/.401. The next year, he batted .319/.412/.496 in 88 contests for Monclova. Aybar did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Mexican League season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. In 2021, Aybar slashed .318/.384/.450 with 3 home runs and 29 RBIs in 52 games. He was released by the team following the season on January 10, 2022.

Algodoneros de Unión Laguna

On February 9, 2022, Aybar signed with the

Algodoneros de Unión Laguna The Algodoneros de Unión Laguna (English: Laguna Union Cotton Farmers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Torreón, Coahuila. History Early years The team was established in 1940 under the name Algodoneros de Unió ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

for the 2022 season. In 42 games, he batted .261/.324/.379 with 4 home runs and 17 RBIs. Aybar was released on June 21, 2022.

Personal life

Aybar is the youngest brother (by 10 months) of former

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

infielder/

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

Willy Aybar. His nephew, Wander Franco, currently plays for the Rays.

References

External links

Finale lifts Venezuela to title
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aybar, Erick 1984 births Living people American League All-Stars Arkansas Travelers players Atlanta Braves players Cedar Rapids Kernels players Detroit Tigers players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Gold Glove Award winners Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball shortstops Mexican League baseball second basemen People from Baní Provo Angels players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Salt Lake Bees players San Diego Padres players Tigres del Licey players World Baseball Classic players of the Dominican Republic 2013 World Baseball Classic players