Alex Valdez

ALEX VALDEZ
THIRD BASEMAN
Born: September 2, 1984
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 160
Bats: Both
Throws: Right
Signed: Int’l Free Agent 2003 (Athletics)
How Acquired: Minor League Free Agent
Country: Dominican Republic
Agent: N/A

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

Valdez has played mainly third and second in his career and appears primarily to have been an organizational player for most of it.  He’s had weak strike zone judgment in most years and has shown only middling power.  He seems to run reasonably well.  The Pirates signed him to a minor league contract for 2013 after he had a big year in the Mexican League.

2004
R:  272/342/320, 103 AB, 1 2B, 2 3B, 11 BB, 14 K, 5-8 SB

Valdez split his time between second, third and left.  He hit for a decent average and showed good strike zone judgment, but didn’t hit for any power.

2005
R:  222/309/365, 189 AB, 5 2B, 5 3B, 4 HR, 21 BB, 44 K, 8-12 SB

The A’s sent Valdez back to rookie ball, where he played mainly at third.  He regressed offensively, except that he showed much more power.

2006
A-: 269/328/382, 238 AB, 14 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 19 BB, 28 K, 1-1 SB

Goedert played third regularly in short season ball, but didn’t hit a great deal. He had labrum surgery after the season,

2007
A-:  273/320/406, 249 AB, 16 2B, 4 3B, 3 HR, 15 BB, 63 K, 3-5 SB

Valdez hit with more authority in short season ball, but his plate discipline went south.  He played third exclusively.

2008
A+:  169/195/183, 71 AB, 1 2B, 2 BB, 17 K, 1-3 SB

Valdez was injured nearly all year and didn’t join the Athletics’ California League affiliate until August.

2009
A+:  258/279/387, 124 AB, 6 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 4 BB, 30 K, 2-3 SB
AA:  280/356/425, 275 AB, 15 2B, 5 3B, 5 HR, 33 BB, 42 K, 4-7 SB
AAA:  000/000/000, 0 AB

Valdez played about a third of his season in high A and two-thirds in AA.  Oddly, he hit poorly with awful plate discipline in high A, then well with very good plate discipline in AA.  He split his time between second and third.

2010
AA:  262/318/422, 526 AB, 29 2B, 8 3B, 13 HR, 39 BB, 123 K, 10-11 SB

The A’s left Valdez in AA all year and he hit largely the same as he had at that level the year before, except his walk and K rates went south again.

2011
A+ (Bos):  243/303/371, 140 AB, 11 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 13 BB, 40 K, 4-5 SB
AA (Wash):  225/278/438, 89 AB, 6 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 7 BB, 20 K, 2-3 SB
AA (Bos):  316/409/368, 19 AB, 1 2B, 3 BB, 2 K, 1-1 SB
AAA (Wash):  156/235/286, 77 AB, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 7 BB, 17 K, 2-2 SB
AAA (Bos):  214/353/571, 14 AB, 2 2B, 1 HR, 3 BB, 6 K

Valdez became a free agent after the 2010 season and signed with the Nationals.  They released him in June and he signed with Boston two days later.  He obviously was employed as an organizational fill-in with both teams, appearing with five teams over three levels.  The bulk of his playing time was at second and third, but he saw a little action at short.

2012
MEX:  359/411/597, 390 AB, 22 2B, 7 3B, 19 HR, 38 BB, 62 K, 11-16 SB

Valdez played in the Mexican League and had a big season.  Whether that represents real progress is probably dubious, but it may have gotten him on the Pirates’ radar screen.  He played three-quarters of the time at third and most of the rest at first.

Valdez didn’t show much with the bat in his seasons in the US, but his Mexican League showing could indicate a step forward.  Then again, he was 27 at the time, so it’s not very likely.  He wasn’t on any roster at the start of the 2013 season, but could appear eventually at Indianapolis or Altoona.

STATS
Baseball Reference–Minors
Fangraphs
MiLB.com
CONTRACT INFORMATION
2013: Minor league contract
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: N/A
MiLB Debut: 2004
MLB Debut: N/A
MiLB FA Eligible: 2013
MLB FA Eligible: N/A
Rule 5 Eligible: Eligible
Added to 40-Man: N/A
Options Remaining: 3
MLB Service Time: 0.000
TRANSACTIONS
February 11, 2003: Signed by the Oakland Athletics as an international free agent.
November 6, 2010: Became a free agent.
December 13, 2010: Signed as a minor league free agent by the Washington Nationals.
June 26, 2011: Released by the Washington Nationals.
June 28, 2011: Signed as a minor league free agent by the Boston Red Sox.
November 2, 2011: Became a free agent.
November 21, 2012: Signed as a minor league free agent with the Pittsburgh Pirates.