Wilmer Francisco Difo (born April 2, 1992) is a Dominican

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 ...

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player is a player who typically does not have the offensive abilities to justify a regular starting role on the team but is capable of playing more than one defensive position. These players are able to give the various s ...

in 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 ...

organization. Difo made his MLB debut in 2015 with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

and has also played for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He has made the majority of his major league appearances as a second baseman,

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 ...

, or

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, with more limited stints as an

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 ...

Career

Washington Nationals

Difo signed with the

as an international free agent on June 3, 2010. He made his professional debut that season for the Dominican Summer League Nationals. From 2010 to 2013, he played for the

Gulf Coast Nationals The Florida Complex League Nationals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Washington Nationals, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Nationals. The ...

Auburn Doubledays The Auburn Doubledays are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) that is located in Auburn, New York. From 1958 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL ...

Hagerstown Suns The Hagerstown Suns were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland. They were a member of the South Atlantic League and, from 2007 through 2020, were the Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They played their home ga ...

and

Potomac Nationals The Potomac Nationals were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They were located in Woodbridge, Virginia, and played their home games at Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium. After the 2019 season, the team relocated to F ...

. Difo played the 2014 season with Hagerstown. He was named the 2014

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

Most Valuable Player (MVP) with a .315

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, a .360 on-base percentage and a .470

slugging average In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...

, with 14 home runs and 90

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 ...

. He received the

Bob Boone Robert Raymond Boone (born November 19, 1947) is an American former catcher and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who was a four-time All-Star. Born in San Diego, California, he is the son of MLB player Ray Boone, and he is the father o ...

Award from the Nationals, which "recognizes professionalism and passion". Difo started 2015 with the Potomac Nationals and was promoted to the Double-A Harrisburg Senators after 19 games. On May 19, 2015, Difo was called up to the major leagues for the first time and collected his first hit in his first at-bat the same day, a pinch-hit single up the middle off

reliever

David Carpenter David Joseph Carpenter (born May 6, 1930), a.k.a. The Trailside Killer, is an American serial killer and serial rapist known for stalking and murdering a variety of individuals on hiking trails in state parks near San Francisco, California. He ...

. Difo hit his first career home run on September 29, 2016, off

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 ...

starter and former Nationals pitching prospect

Robbie Ray Robert Glenn Ray (born October 1, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Detroit Tigers, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Toronto Blue Jays. Ray was an M ...

. On October 14, 2016, he struck out for the game's last out as a pinch hitter as 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 ...

defeated the Nationals 4-3 to win the National League Division Series. Difo received his first career start in the outfield on June 24, 2017, playing center field against the Cincinnati Reds due to an injury to regular center fielder

Michael A. Taylor Michael Anthony Taylor (born March 26, 1991) is an American professional baseball center fielder for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). Taylor was drafted in the sixth round (172nd overall) of the 2009 MLB draft by the Washingto ...

. After

Trea Turner Trea Vance Turner (born June 30, 1993) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers. Turner pl ...

suffered a broken wrist in a game days later, Difo took over as the Nationals' regular starting shortstop, occasionally sharing duties with

Stephen Drew Stephen Oris Drew (born March 16, 1983) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Washington Na ...

and

Adrián Sánchez Adrián Sánchez may refer to: * Adrián Sánchez (baseball) (born 1990), Colombian baseball player * Adrián Sánchez (footballer) (born 1999), Argentine footballer {{hndis, Sanchez, Adrian ...

. On July 27, 2017, Difo hit one of four consecutive home runs by Nationals hitters off Milwaukee Brewers starter Michael Blazek, the first time the feat had been accomplished in Major League Baseball since the 2011 season. Splitting time between the Majors and Minors in 2019, Difo appeared in 43 games with the Nationals and had a .252 average with two home runs and eight RBIs. The Nationals finished the year with a 93-69 record, able to clinch a wild card spot. Difo did not play in the postseason, but was on the Nationals' 40-man roster when the team won the 2019 World Series over the Houston Astros, their first championship in franchise history. On September 5, 2020, Difo was designated for assignment by the Nationals. He cleared waivers and was assigned to the team's alternate training site in Fredericksburg,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Difo elected free agency on October 13, 2020.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On January 15, 2021, Difo signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. On April 4, 2021, Difo was selected to the 40-man roster to fill in for Ke'Bryan Hayes, who was suffering from left wrist inflammation. On May 22, 2021, against 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 ...

, Difo pitched one inning in a blowout, giving up eight runs on six hits, including a grand slam. It was his first career pitching appearance. On June 8, Difo was designated for assignment after posting a .244/.287/.366 batting line in 44 games for the Pirates. He was outrighted to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians on June 12. Difo was re-selected to the active roster on July 2. Difo hit .269/.329/.384 with 4 home runs and 24 RBI in 116 games for the Pirates. On November 6, 2021, Difo was outrighted from the 40-man roster and elected free agency the next day.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On March 19, 2022, Difo signed a minor league contract with the

. On September 1, Difo's contract was selected and was promoted to the major league roster. On September 12, Difo was designated for assignment. On September 19, he cleared waivers, but elected free agency.

New York Yankees

On December 23, 2022, Difo signed a minor league deal with the

Personal life

During the 2017 season, Difo attracted some media attention for his choice of walk-up music, as he frequently had romantic ballads like "

Unchained Melody "Unchained Melody" is a 1955 song with music by Alex North and lyrics by Hy Zaret. North wrote the music as a theme for the prison film '' Unchained'' (1955), hence the song title. Todd Duncan sang the vocals for the film soundtrack.Robert Rodr ...

" and " My Girl" added to his rotation. Although some of Difo's teammates told ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' they assumed someone was playing a joke on the young infielder, Difo explained to the paper, "I love those songs." Difo chose to go by the nickname ''El Lindo'',

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

for "the beautiful one", for MLB Players' Weekend in 2017. The nickname was reportedly given to him by Nationals teammate

Adam Lind Adam Alan Lind (born July 17, 1983) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners and Washington Nationals. Lind has a ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Difo, Wilmer 1992 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players Arizona Diamondbacks players Auburn Doubledays players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Nationals players Gigantes del Cibao players Gulf Coast Nationals players Hagerstown Suns players Harrisburg Senators players Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball third basemen Pittsburgh Pirates players Potomac Nationals players Syracuse Chiefs players Washington Nationals players