Etanislao Toni "Tony" Abreu ( h-BREH-yu born November 13, 1984) is a Dominican former 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 ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

. He 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

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

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

, and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. He was a

switch-hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers, although there are some exceptions. Characteristics Right-han ...

and threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

Baseball career

Los Angeles Dodgers

Abreu was signed by the Dodgers as an undrafted

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 ...

on October 17, 2002. He played for the

Gulf Coast Dodgers The Arizona Complex League Dodgers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona. The team is compo ...

of the Rookie Leagues in and the

Columbus Catfish The Columbus Catfish were a minor league baseball team in Columbus, Georgia. They were a Class A team in the South Atlantic League, and were an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. The Catfish relocated to Bowling Green ...

in "A" ball in . In , while playing for the

Vero Beach Dodgers Vero may refer to: Geography * Vero Beach, Florida, a city in the United States * Vero, Corse-du-Sud, a commune of France in Corsica Other * ''Véro'', a talk show on the Radio-Canada television network * Vero (app), a social media company co-found ...

, Abreu led the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

in hitting with a .327

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 ...

and was an All-Star at second base. He also played for the

Phoenix Desert Dogs Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), an immortal bird in ancient Greek mythology * Phoenix, Arizona, the capital of the U.S. state of Arizona and the most populous state capital in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: ...

in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

, and helped win an AFL championship, batting .305 with a homer and seven RBIs in the AFL. In , for the Double-A

Jacksonville Suns The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

, he hit .287 and was invited 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 ...

with the Dodgers before the season. He hit .340 for the Dodgers in spring training, but wound up opening the season with the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s. Primarily a second baseman in the minors, the Dodgers used his stint with the 51s to give him some playing time at third base, figuring that was the position that he might get the best chance to advance. Abreu made his Major League debut on May 22 against the

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 ...

, and recorded his first Major League hit three days later against 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 ...

. He hit his first home run on June 26, 2007, as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

in the 10th inning to key the Dodgers extra innings victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. He suffered a

groin In human anatomy, the groin, also known as the inguinal region or iliac region, is the junctional area between the torso and the thigh. The groin is at the front of the body on either side of the pubic tubercle, where the lower part of the abdom ...

injury late in the 2007 season that kept him on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...

for the entire 2008 season. He began the 2009 season in the minors with the

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

and the

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an ...

. After hitting .342 in 37 games with the Isotopes, he returned to the big leagues when the Dodgers called up him up on August 7.

Arizona Diamondbacks

He was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks as the "player to be named" in a deal that sent pitcher

Jon Garland Jon Steven Garland (born September 27, 1979) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. After being drafted by the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1997, Garland played for the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Ange ...

to the Dodgers. The deal was held up for several weeks due to a dispute between Abreu and the Dodgers over service time. He appeared in 81 games with the Diamondbacks in 2010 and hit .233.

Kansas City Royals

Abreu was signed as a free agent by the

after spending the 2011 season in the Diamondbacks' minor league system. He was called up to the Royals on August 5, 2012, after spending time in the Royals' minor league system. Abreu appeared in 22 games with Kansas City, batting .257. On January 25, 2013, the Royals designated Abreu for assignment as they made room on the 40-man roster for catcher George Kottaras.

San Francisco Giants

On February 4, 2013, the

claimed Abreu off waivers from the Royals. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list on March 30, but would play in 53 games hitting .268 for the Giants during the 2013 season. The Giants released Abreu on March 23, 2014, prior to the end of spring training, but later re-signed him to a minor league contract on March 31. While initially intending to opt out of contract on July 21, Abreu was selected to San Francisco's active roster on July 25. In three games for the team, he went 0-for-4, and was designated for assignment on July 29. Abreu cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Fresno on August 3.

Bridgeport Bluefish

On February 21, 2017, Abreu signed with the

Bridgeport Bluefish The Bridgeport Bluefish were an American minor league baseball team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team was a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseb ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

New Britain Bees

On November 1, 2017, Abreu was selected by the

New Britain Bees The New Britain Bees are an American collegiate summer baseball team based in New Britain, Connecticut. They are a member of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL), a wood-bat league with teams in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connectic ...

in the

dispersal draft On February 13, 2018, Abreu signed with the Bees for the 2018 season. Abreu announced his retirement on May 4, 2018.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abreu, Tony 1984 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players Albuquerque Isotopes players Arizona Diamondbacks players Arizona League Giants players Bridgeport Bluefish players Chattanooga Lookouts players Columbus Catfish players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Fresno Grizzlies players Gulf Coast Dodgers players Jacksonville Suns players Kansas City Royals players Las Vegas 51s players Leones del Escogido players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Major League Baseball third basemen Mexican League baseball second basemen Mexican League baseball shortstops Mexican League baseball third basemen New Britain Bees players Omaha Storm Chasers players Baseball players from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic Phoenix Desert Dogs players Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players Reno Aces players San Francisco Giants players Vero Beach Dodgers players