Russell Michael Canzler (born April 11, 1986) is an American former

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 professiona ...

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 u ...

. 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

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

and

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 ...

Professional career

Chicago Cubs

Canzler was drafted by the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

in the 30th round of the 2004 MLB Draft out of

Hazleton Area School District The Hazleton Area School District is a large, rural public school district in Pennsylvania, stretching across portions of Luzerne, Schuylkill, and Carbon Counties. Its headquarters are in Hazle Township. Students in grade nine through 12 atten ...

. He played in the Cubs organization from 2004 to 2010.

Tampa Bay Rays

Before the 2011 season, in his first year of free agency, he signed a minor league deal with the

, saying later he thought it gave him the best chance to make the major leagues. He was the 2011

International League MVP The International League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual award given to the best player in Minor League Baseball's International League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers. Broadcasters, Minor Le ...

after hitting .314/.401/.530 with 18

home runs 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 is ...

and 83

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) in 131 games. Canzler fulfilled his goal in signing with the Rays when was called up to the majors for the first time on September 11, 2011.

Cleveland Indians

Canzler was traded to the

on January 31, 2012 in exchange for cash considerations. Canzler was designated for assignment on December 19, 2012 to make room on the 40-man roster for Mark Reynolds.

Baltimore Orioles

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) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

claimed Canzler off waivers from the

on December 21, 2012. Cleveland reacquired Canzler off waivers from Toronto on January 2, 2013, then 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 o ...

claimed him off waivers from the Indians a day later on January 4, 2013. The Yankees designated Canzler for assignment on February 1, when they signed

Travis Hafner Travis Lee Hafner (; born June 3, 1977) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a designated hitter and first baseman. A left-handed hitter, Hafner played for the Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indian ...

. He was claimed off waivers by the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles 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 American League's eight charter ...

on February 5, 2013.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On July 12, 2013, Canzler was traded to the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

for Tim Alderson. He was designated for assignment on August 27, 2013.

New York Yankees

Canzler signed a minor league deal with the

in October 2013. On June 21, 2014, he was released by the Yankees.

Philadelphia Phillies

Canzler signed a minor league contract with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

on June 26, 2014, and was assigned to the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate, the

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in th ...

. On November 13, 2014, Canzler was re-signed by the Phillies. He elected free agency on November 6, 2015.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canzler, Russ 1986 births Living people Tampa Bay Rays players Cleveland Indians players Arizona League Cubs players Boise Hawks players Peoria Chiefs players Daytona Cubs players Tennessee Smokies players Durham Bulls players Columbus Clippers players Norfolk Tides players Indianapolis Indians players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Sportspeople from Hazleton, Pennsylvania Baseball players from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania People from Berwick, Pennsylvania Major League Baseball third basemen International League MVP award winners