The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed 27-year-old middle infielder Domingo Leyba to a minor league deal. The switch-hitter has put in two partial seasons at the big league level.
Leyba was originally signed as an international amateur free agent out of the Dominican by the Detroit Tigers in 2012. He was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks long before he made the majors. He played in the Arizona Fall League in 2014, but didn’t debut in the majors until 2019. He hit .280/.367/.440 in 30 plate appearances over 21 games with the 2019 Arizona Diamondbacks.
Leyba didn’t play in 2020 due to a minor league 80-game suspension after testing positive for Boldenone. He returned in 2021 to play for the Diamondbacks and Baltimore Orioles, combining to hit just .115/.198/.161 in 96 plate appearances over 34 games.
Leyba spent most of 2022 in Double-A for the San Diego Padres, where he hit .266/.365/.409 in 98 games. He also had a .538 OPS in ten Triple-A games. He played winter ball in the Dominican this off-season, hitting .211/.318/.246 in 22 games.
While his big league time has mostly been at second base, Leyba has split his minor league time approximately 45% each between shortstop and second base, with the other 10% being third base. Reports say his best position is second base.
