Víctor José Reyes (born October 5, 1994) is a Venezuelan

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 ...

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 ...

in the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

organization. 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 Detroit Tigers. He made his MLB debut in 2018.

Career

Atlanta Braves

The

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 ...

signed Reyes as an international

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in July 2011. He made his professional debut in 2012 with the DSL Braves where he batted .296 with 33

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(RBIs) and 12 stolen bases in 52 games. He spent 2013 with both the

Gulf Coast League Braves The Florida Complex League Braves are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Braves. The team plays at CoolTod ...

and

Danville Braves The Danville Braves were a Minor League Baseball team in Danville, Virginia. They were an Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League and were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves. The Braves have played home games at American Legion Post 3 ...

, slashing .342/.387/.409 with 25 RBIs in 49 games, and 2014 with the

Rome Braves The Rome Braves are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They are located in Rome, Georgia, and play their home games at AdventHealth Stadium. From 2003 to 2020, the team serve ...

where he compiled a .259 batting average with 34 RBIs in 89 games.

Arizona Diamondbacks

In April 2015, the Braves traded Reyes to 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 ...

for the 75th pick in the

2015 MLB draft Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...

. This draft pick was used by the Braves to select pitcher A.J. Minter. Arizona assigned Reyes to the

Kane County Cougars The Kane County Cougars are an independent professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play thei ...

and he spent the whole season there, slashing .311/.343/.389 with two home runs and 59 RBIs in 121 games. In 2016, he played for the

Visalia Rawhide The Visalia Rawhide are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Visalia, California, and have played their home games at Valley Strong Ballpark since thei ...

where he batted .303 with six home runs and 54 RBIs in 124 games, and in 2017, he played with the

Jackson Generals The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (SL) as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1998–2006), Seattle Mari ...

where he hit .292 with four home runs, 51 RBIs, 29 doubles, 59 runs scored, and 18 stolen bases. After the 2017 season, he played for the

Salt River Rafters The Salt River Rafters are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick near Scottsdale, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility o ...

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 ...

, where he hit .316 and scored eight runs and was selected to the Arizona Fall League's Rising Stars Team.

Detroit Tigers

On December 14, 2017, the Detroit Tigers selected Reyes from the

organization with the first selection of the 2017 Rule 5 draft. Reyes made the Tigers' 2018 Opening Day

25-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

. Reyes made his major league debut with the Tigers on April 1, but left the game early after a spike cut his arm. Through the first half of the season, Reyes played sparingly, primarily serving as a pinch runner for Víctor Martínez or as a late-inning defensive replacement. Through the 2018 All-Star break, Reyes was hitting .221 in only 96 plate appearances. On September 2, Reyes hit his first career major league home run, a solo shot off

Sonny Gray Sonny Douglas Gray (born November 7, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, and Cincinnati Reds. Gray attended ...

of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

. Reyes also went 4-for-5 in the contest for his first career four-hit game. He would finish the 2018 season hitting .222 with 1 home run in 212 at-bats. He also stole 9 bases in 10 attempts. On March 14, 2019 the Tigers sent Reyes to the

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 ...

to begin the 2019 season. After hitting .302 in Toledo with nine home runs and 55 RBIs in 65 games, Reyes was recalled to the Tigers on July 4. In 276 at-bats for the Tigers, Reyes hit .304 with three home runs and 25 RBIs. In the shortened 2020 season, Reyes primarily batted leadoff for the Tigers. In 57 games, he hit .277 with four home runs and 14 RBIs, while stealing eight bases in 10 attempts. Reyes made the Tigers 2021 opening day roster. On May 8, he was optioned to Triple-A Toledo after hitting just .143 in 63 at-bats. Reyes was recalled to the MLB roster on May 24. On August 27, 2021, Reyes hit a

pinch-hit In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

inside-the-park home run In baseball, an inside-the-park home run is a play where a batter hits a home run without hitting the ball out of the field of play. It is also known as an "inside-the-parker", "in-the-park home run", or "in-the-park homer". Discussion To score ...

, becoming the first MLB player to do so since

Tyler Saladino Tyler Artolo Saladino (born July 20, 1989) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers and for the Samsung Lions of the KBO League. Amateur ca ...

on May 14, 2018, and the first Tigers player to do since

Ben Oglivie Benjamin Ambrosio Oglivie Palmer (born February 11, 1949) is a Panamanians, Panamanian former professional baseball left fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox (1971–1973), Detroit Tigers (1974–1977), and Mi ...

on June 2, 1976. In 76 games at the major league level in 2021, Reyes hit .258 with 5 home runs. On March 22, 2022, the Tigers and Reyes agreed on a one-year contract worth $1.4 million, avoiding arbitration. On November 10, 2022, the Tigers outrighted Reyes off the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

and Reyes rejected the outright assignment to Triple-A, instead opting for

Free Agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...

Chicago White Sox

On December 10, 2022, Reyes signed a minor league contract with the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reyes, Victor 1994 births Detroit Tigers players Danville Braves players Dominican Summer League Braves players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Kane County Cougars players Jackson Generals (Southern League) players Leones del Caracas players Living people Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States People from Barcelona, Venezuela Rome Braves players Salt River Rafters players Toledo Mud Hens players Visalia Rawhide players