ADEINY HECHAVARRIA, SHORTSTOP
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Born: April 15, 1989 Height: 6′ 0″ Weight: 195 Bats: Right Throws: Right Signed: Int’l Free Agent, 2010 (Blue Jays) How Acquired: Trade (with Rays for Matt Seelinger) Country: Cuba Agent: Magnus Sports |
WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE |
Toronto signed Hechavarria out of Cuba when he was 20. He came with a very good defensive reputation, which proved accurate. He has good range and hands, and a strong arm. From 2015 to 2018 the defensive metrics rated him above average at short. His bat is a different matter, as he has only limited power and has never been willing to take many pitches. He hit very well in AAA at Las Vegas, but hasn’t hit well anywhere else. He originally had good speed, but he’s never been a good basebal stealer. After several hamstring injuries, Hechavarria may have lost some speed. The Pirates acquired him after the Rays designated him for assignment in August 2018.
2010 Hechavarria wasn’t quite 21 when he signed and the Jays sent him initially to high class A. He struggled badly at the plate, possibly due to problems adapting to a new culture. After a mid-season promotion to AA, he hit much better, although not especially well. Baseball America rated him Toronto’s 13th best prospect. 2011 The Jays sent Hechavarria back to AA and he took a small step backward at the plate. He did get hot after a late-season promotion to the very hitter-friendly environs of Las Vegas in the Pacific Coast League. BA again rated him the Jays’ 13th best prospect after the season. 2012 Hechavarria continued to hit well at Las Vegas, even putting up a respectable walk rate. He got a late-season callup and played shortstop more or less regularly for the Jays in August and September. After the season, Toronto sent him to Miami in a huge, twelve-player trade. BA rated him Miami’s seventh best prospect. 2013 Hechavarria spent the season as the Marlins’ regular shortstop. He struggled badly at the plate. Other than a good month in July, he showed no progress over the season, with an OPS of .573 or lower in every other month. 2014 Hechavarria showed improvement at the plate, although he remained a very impatient hitter. He had several disabled list stints in the season’s first half with various arm injuries. 2015 Hechavarria had pretty much the same season as in 2014, hitting for a good average with little patience and modet power. He missed September due to a hamstring injury. 2016 At the plate, Hechavarria fell off badly. The main culprit appeared to be his batting average on balls in play, which fell to .269, a drop of nearly 60 points from the previous two years. Everything else largely stayed the same. 2017 In the early season, Hechavarria was hampered by injuries, missing time with hamstring and oblique problems. While he was still on a minor league rehab, in late June, the Marlins traded him to the Rays, who activated him the next day. He spent the rest of the season as the Rays’ shortstop, hitting about like he had in 2014-15. 2018 Hechavarria opened the season as the Tampa shortstop, but he was out from mid-May to mid-June with another hamstring injury. When he played, his hitting fell off mainly in the form of a loss of his already-modest power. With one of their top prospects, Willy Adames, ready to take over at short, the Rays designated Hechavarria for assignment at the beginning of August and traded him to the Pirates. The Pirates have been plagued by extremely bad infield defense all year, which probably explains the acquisition of Hechavarria. They stated they would use him at short and second, although he hadn’t played anywhere but short at the major league level since 2012. He’ll be a free agent after the season. |
CONTRACT INFORMATION
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2010: $500,000 2011: $2,000,000 2012: $1,750,000 2013: $2,750,000 2014: $2,200,000 2015: $1,925,000 2016: $2,625,000 2017: $4,350,000 2018: $5,900,000 |
PLAYER INFORMATION
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Signing Bonus: $4,000,000 MiLB Debut: 2010 MLB Debut: 8/4/2012 MiLB FA Eligible: N/A MLB FA Eligible: 2018 Rule 5 Eligible: N/A Added to 40-Man: 4/13/2010 Options Remaining: 2 (USED: 2012) MLB Service Time: 5.060 |
TRANSACTIONS
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April 13, 2010: Signed as a free agent by the Toronto Blue Jays. November 19, 2012: Traded by the Toronto Blue Jays with Yunel Escobar, Henderson Alvarez, Jeff Mathis, Jake Marisnick, Justin Nicolino and Anthony DeSclafini to the Miami Marlins for Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, Emilio Bonifacio, John Buck and cash. June 26, 2017: Traded by the Miami Marlins to the Tampa Bay Rays for Braxton Lee and Ethan Clark. August 1, 2018: Designated for assignment by the Tampa Bay Rays. August 6, 2018: Traded by the Tampa Bay Rays to the Pittsburgh Pirates with cash for Matt Seelinger. |