Rougned Roberto Odor () (born February 3, 1994), nicknamed "Rougie", is a Venezuelan professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

who is a free agent. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the Texas Rangers,

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

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

, 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

. Odor played for Texas’s minor league affiliates from 2011 until he was called up to the MLB team in 2014. The Rangers traded him to the Yankees in 2021 where he would be released following the season. He was later signed by the Orioles for the 2022 season.

Early life and family

Odor was born in

Maracaibo Maracaibo ( , ; ) is a city and municipality in northwestern Venezuela, on the western shore of the strait that connects Lake Maracaibo to the Gulf of Venezuela. It is the largest city in Venezuela and is List of cities in Venezuela by population ...

, Venezuela, on February 3, 1994. His first name is a combination of his grandfather's name, Douglas, and his grandmother's name, Nedia; in keeping with the family custom of giving boys names that begin with the letter "R", the "D" in Douglas was changed to an "R," yielding Rougned. His father, also named Rougned, played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a Public university, public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. First opened in 1958 as Louisiana State University in New Orleans, it is the largest public university and one of t ...

. He has a sister and a younger brother, Rougned José Odor, who signed with the Texas Rangers organization on February 19, 2015. His uncle, Rouglas, played for eight seasons in

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

for the Cleveland and

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

organizations, and is now a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

with the Akron RubberDucks. Three of his uncles on his mother's side played baseball. All three played for the Aguilas de Zulia in the

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (, or LVBP) is the top-level professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Background and predecessors Baseball had been play ...

, while Eduardo Zambrano also played in MLB for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

. Though raised in Maracaibo, he also visited his mother's family in the country during weekends. He spent time around horses, and he enjoys toros coleados, a sport involving horses. Odor began playing baseball at the age of two. He played in the 2009 World Youth Baseball Championship. He was named to the tournament's all-star team as a

Professional career

Minor leagues

Odor signed with the Texas Rangers as an international

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

in 2011, receiving a $425,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. The Rangers aggressively assigned him to the Spokane Indians of the Low–A

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseba ...

. He was the youngest player in the Northwest League, and had a .262

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 ...

on the season. Odor was suspended for four games after starting a brawl during a game with the Vancouver Canadians. In 2012, Odor batted .259 with the Hickory Crawdads of the Single–A

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 h ...

. Odor began the 2013 season with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the High–A

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

, where he had a .303

in 99

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Associat ...

. In August 2013, Odor was promoted to the

Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. Based in Frisco, Texas, the team is named aft ...

of the Double–A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. Odor's emergence with the Rangers allowed them to trade

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player or utility man is a player who has the ability to play more than one position in the field and is primarily used as a substitute. The term super utility player may be used to refer to a player who can play all or mos ...

Leury Garcia to 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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

for

all-star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

Alex Rios that month. He finished the season with a .305 batting average with 41 doubles, six triples, 11

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s, and 78

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) 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 th ...

in 130 games for Myrtle Beach and Frisco. The Rangers named Odor their minor league player of the year. The Rangers invited Odor to

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

in 2014. He began the year with Frisco.

Texas Rangers

2014

The Rangers promoted Odor to the major leagues on May 8, 2014. On May 9, against

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

pitcher

Clay Buchholz Clay Daniel Buchholz (born August 14, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Toronto Blue Jays. Buchholz made ...

, Odor hit a single for his first major league hit. On May 12, against

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

pitcher Brad Peacock, Odor hit his first major league home run. He hit his first grand slam on August 27, in a 12–4 decision against the

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

. Odor was the youngest player in the MLB during his rookie season and helped the Rangers' second base problem even though they finished 67–95, the third-worst record in baseball that year. Odor finished the year hitting a .259 batting average, 39 runs, 14 doubles, nine home runs, four stolen bases, and 48 RBIs in 386 at-bats over 110 games. He was the youngest player in the American League, was 8th in the league in triples (7), and was 10th in caught stealing (7).

2015

Odor began 2015 as the Rangers' starting second baseman, but he struggled mightily, hitting .144 with one home run, nine RBIs, and 25 strikeouts to go with seven walks in 29 games. He was optioned to the

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home ...

of the Triple–A

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

on May 11. However, upon his demotion, Odor found his stroke, beating up Triple-A pitching to a .352/.426/.639 slash with five home runs, 19 RBIs, and only 10 strikeouts to 12 walks in roughly the same number of appearances. On June 15, following an injury to Delino DeShields Jr., Odor was recalled to the Rangers, and in his return, promptly went 3-for-3 with two RBI against the Dodgers. Rougned proceeded to hit very hot in the month of June, hitting .391 with two home runs and nine RBIs and hit .319 with five home runs and 16 RBI in July. He ended the regular season hitting .261, with 16 home runs, 61 RBIs, and 54 runs scored. He led all AL second basemen in errors, with 17.

2016

On May 15, 2016, Odor started an on-field brawl by punching Jose Bautista in the face during the eighth inning of a game 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) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

after Bautista slid into Odor at second base during a double play. Odor first pushed and then swung at Bautista, hitting him squarely in the face. There was speculation that this incident spilled over from the bad blood that resulted from Game 5 of 2015's American League Division Series between the Rangers and the Blue Jays, a game that included Blue Jays fans throwing trash onto the field and Bautista flipping his bat emphatically after hitting the Blue Jays' go-ahead home run. Odor received an eight-game suspension from MLB two days later for his actions that resulted in the brawl. After an appeal, Odor's suspension was revised, eventually finalized at seven games. In 150 games, Odor finished the year with a .271 batting average, 33 home runs, 33 doubles, and 88 RBI. He walked in 3.0% of his at-bats, the lowest percentage in the major leagues, and had the lowest walks-per-strikeout ratio in the majors (0.14). He saw the highest percentage of curveballs of all MLB hitters (16.0%). He led all AL second basemen in errors, with 22. On October 9, Odor was charged with a throwing error which allowed the Toronto Blue Jays to score the winning run in the 10th inning of Game 3 of the ALDS, thus eliminating the Rangers despite holding the best record in the AL in 2016.

2017

Before the 2017 season, Odor played for the Venezuelan national baseball team in the

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts wer ...

. On March 25, Odor signed a six-year extension worth $49.5 million. The deal was finalized on March 30. In the Rangers' season opener against the Cleveland Indians, Odor hit two home runs in his first two at-bats of the season. For the 2017 season, he batted .204/.252/.397, had the lowest on base percentage of all qualified major league batters, and had the lowest batting average on balls in play (.224) of all major league players. For the third consecutive season he led all AL second basemen in errors, with 19.

2018

In 2018, Odor batted .253/.326/.424 with 18 home runs and 63 RBI. He stole 12 bases, but led the American League in caught stealing, with 12.

2019

In 2019, he batted .205/.283/.439/.721 with 30 home runs and 93 RBIs. He led the American League with 178 strikeouts. In 2019, on defense he led all American League second basemen in errors, with 15.

2020

In 2020, Odor batted .167/209/.413 with 10 home runs and 30 RBI. Odor only played in 38 games on the year because of the shortened season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. On March 29, 2021, Odor was informed that he had not made the Rangers'

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster. He was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

when the Rangers' set their Opening Day roster on April 1.

New York Yankees

On April 6, 2021, the Rangers traded Odor to the

for Josh Stowers and Antonio Cabello. In July and August, he moved to third base for 23 games to fill in for Gio Urshela. The Yankees designated Odor for assignment on November 19. Odor was released by the Yankees on November 23.

Baltimore Orioles

Odor signed a one-year contract with the

on November 30, 2021. He struggled with the team in 2022, ending with a negative WAR. He ended the 2022 season with the Orioles with a .207/.275/.357 slash line, 13 home runs, 53 RBI, and six stolen bases.

San Diego Padres

On March 1, 2023, Odor signed a minor league contract with the

, receiving a non-roster invitation to spring training. He had his contract selected on March 30. In 59 games for the Padres, he batted .210/.306/.370 with 4 home runs and 18 RBI. Odor was

by San Diego on July 18, following the promotion of Taylor Kohlwey. On July 24, Odor cleared waivers and elected free agency.

Yomiuri Giants

On January 20, 2024, Odor signed a one-year contract with the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They h ...

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

. However, Odor was released on March 26, as he left the team just 3 days before Opening Day, despite the team wanting him to start in their minor league system after he finished the preseason with a .176 batting average across 12 games.

New York Yankees (second stint)

On April 5, 2024, Odor signed a minor league contract with the

. He did not play in a game for the Yankees organization before he was released on August 1.

Personal life

As part of the contract Odor signed in 2017, Rangers owner Ray Davis included a pair of quarter horses. These are the seventh and eighth horses Odor owns. Odor plans to build a ranch in the

North Texas North Texas is a term used primarily by residents of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to refer to a geographic area of Texas, generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, Texas, Abilene, west of Paris, Texas, Par ...

area, so that his family can move from Venezuela.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Odor, Rougned 1994 births Living people Baltimore Orioles players Frisco RoughRiders players Hickory Crawdads players Major League Baseball players from Venezuela 21st-century Venezuelan sportsmen Major League Baseball second basemen Myrtle Beach Pelicans players Navegantes del Magallanes players Nashville Sounds players New York Yankees players San Diego Padres players Spokane Indians players Baseball players from Maracaibo Round Rock Express players Texas Rangers players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States World Baseball Classic players of Venezuela 2017 World Baseball Classic players