Yangervis Solarte

Yangervis Alfredo Solarte (born July 3, 1987) is a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder for the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna of the Mexican League. He made his MLB debut for the New York Yankees on April 2, 2014, and has also played for the San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, and San Francisco Giants, and the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

Professional career

Minnesota Twins

Solarte signed with the Minnesota Twins in 2005, a few weeks before his 18th birthday. Working his way through the lower levels of the Twins organization, he reached Double-A in 2009, but underwent surgery on his right shoulder and only played 16 games that season. In 2010, he split time between the High-A Florida State League and the Double-A Eastern League. Playing the full season with New Britain of the Eastern League in 2011, he recorded a batting line of .329/.367/.466 in 121 games, most of them at second base.

Texas Rangers

In December 2011, Solarte signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers, which included an invitation to spring training. Solarte played both the 2012 and 2013 seasons with the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate, the Round Rock Express, where he made starts at second, third, shortstop, left field, and first base. Between the two seasons, he had a .282/.331/.404 batting line and 23 home runs in 263 games.

New York Yankees

Following the 2013 season, Solarte became a free agent, and his agent, Chris Leible, helped convince him that his best opportunity to play regularly in the majors would be as a utility infielder. Three scouts had endorsed him, including Jay Darnell, David Keith and Don Wakamatsu. Solarte signed a minor league deal with the New York Yankees in January 2014, who had passed on resigning free agent second baseman Robinson Canó. In spring training in 2014, Solarte competed with Eduardo Núñez, Zelous Wheeler, Dean Anna, and Scott Sizemore for a reserve infielder role with the Yankees, making the team out of spring training.

Solarte's time with the Yankees started with collecting nine hits in his first 20 at bats, including four doubles and six RBI. On April 8, 2014, Solarte hit two doubles, and became the first player in the Modern Era (since 1900) to hit six doubles in his first seven games in the Major Leagues. On April 17, 2014 Solarte started a 5-4-3 triple play against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. He hit his first big league home run later that same game off of Rays pitcher Grant Balfour. He then hit his second home run, a three-run shot, against the Milwaukee Brewers, which eventually drove them to win the game. Early the next month, Solarte at one point held the highest batting average in the American League.

On July 3, 2014 Solarte was optioned back down to AAA while INF Zelous Wheeler was called up to the main roster. On July 10, 2014 Solarte was called back up to the Yankees in place of the injured Carlos Beltrán. Over 75 games with the Yankees in 2014, Solarte batted .254/.337/.381 with 6 home runs, making multiple starts at third and second base and one at shortstop.

San Diego Padres

On July 22, 2014, the Yankees traded Solarte and Rafael De Paula to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Chase Headley. One day later, Solarte made his Padres debut on the road against the Chicago Cubs. Solarte spent most of his time at third base in place of the departed Headley, but also made starts at second, shortstop, and in left field. With the Padres in 2014, he batted .267/.336/.355 with 4 home runs in 56 games.

In 2015, Solarte and Will Middlebrooks competed for the third base job in spring training. Solarte ended up taking on a super-utility role to begin the season, making 60 starts in the first half around the infield, including a run of 17 starts at first base while Yonder Alonso was on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. In the second half, Solarte became the everyday third basemen as Middlebrooks was demoted to Triple-A in July. On the season, Solarte batted .270/.320/.428 with 14 home runs in 152 games, including 85 starts at third base.

Solarte came into the 2016 season as the Padres starting third baseman. Solarte suffered a strained hamstring early on and missed 38 games in April and May. During the season, Solarte's wife developed complications from cancer, and he left the team for four days in July to attend to her. He again left the team in September when her condition worsened, and she passed on September 17. On December 15, 2016, it was announced that Solarte was the recipient of the Tony Conigliaro Award for his on-field achievements while overcoming personal tragedy. Solarte batted .286/.341/.467 on the season, with 15 home runs in 109 games.

In January 2017, the Padres signed Solarte to a two-year contract with a club option for two additional years. Coming into the season, manager Andy Green decided to have Solarte spend more time at second base and give playing time at third to Ryan Schimpf or Cory Spangenberg. Solarte was the regular second-baseman until June 20, when the Padres placed him on the 10-day disabled list with an oblique injury. Solarte didn't return until July 30, and the Padres prepared him for a role at shortstop, as Carlos Asuaje had played well at second base in his absence and Spangenberg had taken over third. Solarte moved around the infield after his return, including 24 starts at shortstop. For the season, he batted .255/.314/.416 with 18 home runs in 128 games. He made 74 starts at second base, 24 at short, 18 at third, and 4 at first.

Toronto Blue Jays

On January 6, 2018, the Padres traded Solarte to the Toronto Blue Jays for minor leaguers Edward Olivares and Jared Carkuff. Due to injuries to Josh Donaldson, Solarte became the Blue Jays' everyday third baseman for most of April 2018. On May 3, 2018, during the first game of a doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians, Solarte hit his first career grand slam, in the eleventh inning, as part of a 5-for-6, 6 RBI game, helping his Blue Jays to a 13–11 win. Later that day, he went 3-for-4 in the second game of the doubleheader, ending the day having gone 8-for-10 throughout the two games and setting a Blue Jays record for most hits in a doubleheader, with 8. Solarte quickly became a fan favorite in Toronto, but a tendency to not run out ground balls hurt his popularity as the season progressed. In the first half of the season, Solarte hit 16 home runs with 48 RBI's. In the second half, Solarte struggled through inconsistency and injury, hitting under .180 with only 1 home run in 30 games. On November 30, Solarte was non-tendered by the Blue Jays and became a free agent.

San Francisco Giants

On February 15, 2019, Solarte signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants that included an invitation to spring training. He was designated for assignment on May 7, 2019 after a poor performance through 28 games. He elected free agency on May 10, 2019.

Miami Marlins

On June 7, 2019, Solarte signed a minor league deal with the Miami Marlins. He was released on July 6, 2019.

Hanshin Tigers

On July 7, 2019, Solarte signed with the Hanshin Tigers of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

On July 26, 2019, Solarte made his NPB debut against Yomiuri Giants, and hit his first NPB home run. After being sent to the farm team in mid-August, Solarte got recalled on September 6, but claimed he was not motivated to play anymore. On September 9, 2019, he was released.

Atlanta Braves

On January 15, 2020, the Atlanta Braves signed Solarte to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training. On August 27, 2020, he was released by the Braves.

Diablos Rojos del México

On May 25, 2021, Solarte signed with the Diablos Rojos del México of the Mexican League. In 39 games, he hit .310/.357/.458 with 3 home runs and 26 RBIs. Solarte became a free agent following the season.

Algodoneros de Unión Laguna

On January 19, 2022, Solarte signed with the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna of the Mexican League for the 2022 season.

Personal life

Solarte has several nicknames "Pituki", "Tutu" and "Sexy Time".

Solarte's uncle is Roger Cedeño. Cedeño convinced his agent to take Solarte as a client as a favor. His wife, Yuliette Pimentel Solarte, died on September 17, 2016, due to complications from cancer. The couple have three daughters. He is remarried to Mehrnaz Bahari and they have a son.

See also

* List of Major League Baseball players from Venezuela

References

External links

Pura Pelota website – Venezuelan League batting and fielding statistics
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Solarte, Yangervis
1987 births
Living people
Beloit Snappers players
Diablos Rojos del México players
Dominican Summer League Twins players
Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic
El Paso Chihuahuas players
Fort Myers Miracle players
Gulf Coast Twins players
Hanshin Tigers players
Major League Baseball infielders
Major League Baseball players from Venezuela
Navegantes del Magallanes players
New Britain Rock Cats players
New Orleans Baby Cakes players
New York Yankees players
Nippon Professional Baseball second basemen
Nippon Professional Baseball shortstops
Nippon Professional Baseball left fielders
Round Rock Express players
San Diego Padres players
San Francisco Giants players
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players
Sportspeople from Valencia, Venezuela
Tigres de Aragua players
Toronto Blue Jays players
Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada
Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Japan
Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Mexico
Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States
World Baseball Classic players of Venezuela
2017 World Baseball Classic players