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Luis Valbuena

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Luis Valbuena
Valbuena with the Houston Astros
Free agent
Third baseman / Second baseman
Born: (1985-11-30) November 30, 1985 (age 38)
Caja Seca, Venezuela
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 2, 2008, for the Seattle Mariners
MLB statistics
(through 2016 season)
Batting average.232
Home runs83
Runs batted in269
Teams

Luis Adan Valbuena (born November 30, 1985) is a Venezuelan professional baseball third baseman who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros. While primarily a third baseman, Valbuena has also played second base and first base.

Early life

Valbuena grew up in Sucre, a municipality in the Venezuelan state of Zulia. He was raised by a single mother named Nelly, who was the president of the local youth baseball league. Valbuena's older brother and several uncles also helped him to learn to play baseball.[1]

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

Valbuena began his professional career in the Seattle Mariners organization in 2005. He was first promoted to the major leagues on September 1, 2008, from the Mariners' Triple-A team, the Tacoma Rainiers.[2]

Cleveland Indians

On December 10, 2008, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians in a three-team trade that sent Franklin Gutiérrez to Seattle.[3]

Valbuena's first Major League home run came off of Bartolo Colón.

In July 2011, the Indians optioned Valbuena to Triple-A Columbus, to make room for the promotion of rookie second baseman Jason Kipnis.[4]

In August 2011, Valbuena was recalled after Kipnis was put on the disabled list with an oblique injury. He was designated for assignment and removed from the 40-man roster on November 18, 2011. On November 26, 2011, he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for cash considerations.

Valbuena in 2011

Chicago Cubs

On April 4, 2012, Valbuena was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs after being optioned by the Blue Jays. He was outrighted to the minors on April 7. Valbuena was called up from the Triple-A Iowa Cubs on June 14. He became a fan favorite in Chicago due to his batflips after hitting home runs.[citation needed]

Valbuena played 108 games for Chicago in 2013, hitting .218 with 12 home runs and 37 runs batted in (RBI). The next year, Valbuena's batting average increased to .249 over 149 games and he had 16 home runs and 51 RBI.[5] By June 2014, Fangraphs noted that Valbuena was hitting fastballs well in the lower, outer portions of the strike zone, which had been a weakness for him in previous years.[6]

Houston Astros

On January 19, 2015, he was traded to the Houston Astros along with Dan Straily, for Dexter Fowler.[7] At the time of the trade, Valbuena was projected as the Astros starting third baseman for 2015.[8] Luis Valbuena's average dropped to .224 in 2015, but his home run totals increased in the hitter friendly Minute Maid Park as he mashed 25 home runs. With Jed Lowrie coming off the disabled list and Carlos Correa taking over the primary shortstop position, Valbuena was forced to share some of the first base duties along with Chris Carter and utility-man Marwin Gonzalez in order to get some playing time.

At the beginning of the 2016 season, Valbuena was the starting third baseman for the Astros. He began to split playing time between first and third base. With the call up of Astros prospect Alex Bregman, Valbuena has seen more playing time at first base.

References

  1. ^ De Jesus Ortiz, Jose (March 15, 2015). "Astros newcomer Valbuena accustomed to adapting". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  2. ^ Jim Street (September 1, 2008). "Mariners' roster swells". Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  3. ^ "Indians, Mariners, Mets complete trade". mlb.com. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
  4. ^ "Tribe calls up touted prospect Jason Kipnis". mlb.com. July 22, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
  5. ^ Luis Valbuena Statistics and History. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  6. ^ "Luis Valbuena is suddenly a line-drive machine". Fangraphs. June 17, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  7. ^ Baer, Bill (January 19, 2015). "Cubs acquire Dexter Fowler in a trade with the Astros". NBC Sports.
  8. ^ Dexter Fowler trade: Meet Luis Valbuena, the Astros' newest infielder. Crawfish Boxes. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
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