Steven Moya (born August 9, 1991) is a

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

born-Dominican Republic

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

player who is a free agent. He previously 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 Detroit Tigers and the

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011) ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB).

Career

Detroit Tigers

Moya signed with the Detroit Tigers as a non-drafted free agent in 2008. He made his professional debut with the Dominican Summer League Tigers, batting .252/.361/.372 with 6 home runs and 33 RBI in 60 games. The next year, he played for the

GCL Tigers The Florida Complex League Tigers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Tigers. The team plays its home ga ...

, slashing .190/.229/.299 in 40 games. In 2011, Moya played for the Single-A

West Michigan Whitecaps The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpa ...

, hitting .204/.234/.362 with career-highs in home runs (13) and RBI (39). In 2012, Moya had Tommy John surgery, which caused him to play in only 59 games for West Michigan that year. He spent the 2013 season with the High-A

Lakeland Flying Tigers The Lakeland Flying Tigers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Lakeland, Florida, and play their home games at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. H ...

, posting a .255/.296/.433 slash line with 12 home runs and 55 RBI. Moya was added to the teams 40-man roster on November 20, 2013. IMG 0407 Steven Moya

Moya started the 2014 season with the Double-A Erie SeaWolves. On June 24, it was announced Moya had been named to the All-Star Futures Game. Moya was named the Eastern League All-Star Game MVP after he hit a

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

in the fifth inning. On August 28, 2014, Moya was named the 2014 Eastern League Most Valuable Player. Moya finished the season batting .273 (142-for-515) with 33 doubles, three triples, 35

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 ...

s, 105 RBI, 81 runs scored, 16 stolen bases, a .555 slugging percentage and a .306 on-base percentage in 133 games this season. Moya is the first SeaWolves player to be named the league's MVP since the SeaWolves entered the Eastern League in 1999. Moya set a new single-season franchise record for total bases (286), extra-base hits (71), home runs (35) and RBI (105). Moya was named the Detroit Tigers' minor league player of the year. Moya batted .265 (39-for-147) from August 1 on with 12 doubles, five home runs and 19 RBIs. He finished the season with the Mud Hens batting .240 (120-for-500) with 30 doubles, 20 home runs, 74 RBIs, 27 walks and 162 strikeouts. Moya made his major league debut on September 1, 2014 as a pinch hitter in the 9th inning, where he recorded a single in his first career at-bat off Austin Adams of the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

. Following the 2014 season, Moya went on to play for the

Glendale Desert Dogs The Glendale Desert Dogs are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility of the Chicago White ...

of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fille ...

. In 23 games, he batted .289 with six doubles, one triple, five home runs, and 19 RBI. Moya was also named to the Arizona Fall League Rising Stars Game. Steven Moya on May 13, 2016

He was called up by the Tigers on September 8, 2015 as a September call-up. He was 4-for-25 in nine September games. On March 26, 2016, he was optioned to the Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

. On May 12, 2016 he was recalled from Triple A. He was optioned back to Toledo later, but was recalled again on June 16, 2016, upon an injury to the Tigers starting right fielder, J. D. Martinez. Moya was optioned back to AAA Toledo on July 17, 2016. After batting .324 in June with four home runs, he was 3-for-23 in July and had some defensive lapses in right field. Manager

Brad Ausmus Bradley David Ausmus (; born April 14, 1969) is an American former professional baseball manager and catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). In his 18-year MLB playing career, Ausmus played for the San Diego Padres, Detroit Tigers, Houston Ast ...

stated he wanted Moya to work on his outfield defense in a "less stressful environment". He was outrighted to Triple-A on March 31, 2017, and split the year between Triple-A Toledo and Double-A Erie, accumulating a .213/.272/.405 slash line with 18 home runs and 50 RBI. Moya elected free agency on November 6.

Chunichi Dragons

On December 1, 2017, Moya signed a one-year contract with the

(NPB). On April 20, 2018, he made his NPB debut. He finished his first NPB season with a slash line of .301/.347/.441 with 3 home runs and 16 RBI. In 7 games for the team in 2019, Moya went 5-for-22 with 1 home run and 3 RBI.

Orix Buffaloes

On June 30, 2019, it was announced that Moya had been traded to the Orix Buffaloes for cash. In 64 games for the team, Moya batted .244/.278/.397 with 10 home runs and 35 RBI. On December 20, 2019, Moya signed a 1-year extension to remain with the Buffaloes. In 2020 for Orix, Moya slashed .274/.324/.567 with 12 home runs and 38 RBI in 46 games for the club.

Awards and accomplishments

*2014 Eastern League All-Star Game MVP *2014 Eastern League MVP *2014

Top Prospects Team

Personal life

Moya was born in Puerto Rico to Dominican parents, and when he was 2 months old, his family returned to the Dominican Republic.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moya, Steven 1991 births Living people Chunichi Dragons players Detroit Tigers players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Japan Dominican Summer League Tigers players Erie SeaWolves players Glendale Desert Dogs players Gulf Coast Tigers players Lakeland Flying Tigers players Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Major League Baseball right fielders Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Orix Buffaloes players People from Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican people of Dominican Republic descent Toledo Mud Hens players Toros del Este players Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic West Michigan Whitecaps players