Brett William Eibner (born December 2, 1988) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

and

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

who is a free agent. He has played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

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) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

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 (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

and

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

Amateur career

Eibner attended

The Woodlands High School The Woodlands High School is a public high school in The Woodlands CDP, in unincorporated Montgomery County, Texas and is a part of the Conroe Independent School District. Some of the Montgomery County portion of The Woodlands and a portion of ...

The Woodlands, Texas The Woodlands is a special-purpose district and census-designated place (CDP) in the U.S. state of Texas in the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area. The Woodlands is primarily located in Montgomery County, with por ...

, and helped them win the 2006 5A state championship as a junior, with teammate

Kyle Drabek Kyle Jordan Drabek (born December 8, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox, and Arizona Diamondbacks. Drabek is the son of former major-l ...

. As a senior, Eibner was named 15-5A first-team all-district outfielder. Despite being drafted by the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

in the fourth round of the

2007 MLB draft The 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players and was held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the fi ...

, Eibner did not sign and attended the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

As a freshman, Eibner led the team in RBI and had three game-winning hits. For his efforts, Eibner was named to

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

's Freshman All-American team in 2008. The following season, Eibner was named SEC Pitcher of the Week for his complete-game one-hit shutout win against the #1 Georgia Bulldogs. Eibner struggled significantly at the plate, with his average dropping to .231 and striking out 60 times. However, when the

2009 Arkansas Razorbacks baseball team The 2009 Arkansas Razorbacks baseball team represented the University of Arkansas in baseball at the Division I level in the NCAA for the 2009 season. Dave van Horn, a former Razorback player, is the coach in his fifth year. The team clinched ...

reached the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

, Eibner hit "one of the most memorable home runs in program history" when he tied an elimination game vs Virginia in the top of the ninth with a two-run home run. Eibner returned for his junior season with the Razorbacks, hitting .333 with 22 home runs. On the mound, Eibner went 3–5 in 58 innings for the Razorbacks in the regular season. In the 2010

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

Super Regional, Eibner hit a game-tying home run with the Razorbacks down to their final strike, extending the game to extra innings where the Razorbacks lost in the 12th. Following the 2010 season, Eibner became the fourth Razorback to be named both a freshman All-American and All-American, including teammate

Zack Cox Zackary Kendrick Cox (born May 9, 1989) is an American retired professional baseball third baseman. Amateur career Cox was born in Campbellsville, Kentucky. He attended Pleasure Ridge Park High School in the Pleasure Ridge Park neighborhood of ...

. He was also a

John Olerud Award The John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award (known colloquially as the John Olerud Award) is a college baseball award given to the best two-way player of the season. The award is named after former Washington State Cougars All-American pitch ...

Semifinalist, Second Team All-SEC, and ABCA/Rawlings First Team All-South Region player. In 2008 and 2009, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Wareham Gatemen The Wareham Gatemen are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Wareham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Gatemen play their home games at Clem Spillane Fi ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

Professional career

Kansas City Royals

The

selected Eibner in the second round of the

2010 MLB draft The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pic ...

. In 2013, Eibner played for the

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

Brett Eibner swngs at a pitch (25089513893) (Cropped)

After the 2015 season, Royals added him to their 40-man roster On May 26, 2016, Royals promoted Eibner to the MLB. He made his MLB debut the following night at Kansas City's

Kauffman Stadium Kauffman Stadium (), often called "The K", is a baseball stadium located in Kansas City, Missouri. It is home to the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). It is part of the Truman Sports Complex together with the adjacent Arrowhe ...

, going 1-for-3 and scoring a run while striking out twice in the Royals' 7–5 win over the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

. Facing off against the White Sox on May 28, 2016, the Royals were trailing 7–1 in the 9th inning, but Eibner completed the rally with a walk-off single to win it for the Royals 8–7.

Oakland Athletics

On July 30, 2016, the Royals traded Eibner to the

for Billy Burns. Eibner was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Athletics on January 20, 2017.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On January 25, 2017, Eibner was traded to the

, in exchange for Jordan Tarsovich and assigned to the Triple-A

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Dodgers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Bal ...

to begin the season. The Dodgers called him up to MLB on April 19. After playing in 17 games for the Dodgers, he was returned to the minors where the Dodgers attempted to convert him to a pitcher. However, he injured his elbow and underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

, ending his season. On September 1, 2017, he was designated for assignment and released the following day.

Texas Rangers

On December 22, 2017, Eibner signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers. He was released on March 19, 2019.

Texas AirHogs

On June 7, 2019, Eibner signed with the

Texas AirHogs The Texas AirHogs were a professional baseball team based in Grand Prairie, Texas from 2008 to 2020. The AirHogs were members of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Be ...

of the independent

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

. In 36 games he slashed .167/.310/.319 with 3 home runs and 5 RBIs, he also pitched in 16 games throwing 18 innings with a 1.00 ERA and 27 strikeouts.

Sugar Land Skeeters

On August 30, 2019, Eibner was traded to the

Sugar Land Skeeters The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. They are located in Sugar Land, Texas, part of the Greater Houston metr ...

of the

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

. He became a free agent following the season. He pitched in 8 games throwing 8 innings with a 2.25 ERA and 8 strikeouts.

Eastern Reyes del Tigre

In July 2020, Eibner signed on to play for the Eastern Reyes del Tigre of the

Constellation Energy League The Constellation Energy League was an independent baseball league that operated in Texas during 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions limiting travel, and as a way to create opportunities for minor league players. History The league consisted of ...

(a makeshift 4-team independent league created as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

) for the 2020 season. He pitched in 5 games throwing 5.1 innings with a 0.00 ERA and 8 strikeouts.

Miami Marlins

On August 2, 2020, the

purchased Eibner's contract. Eibner was selected to the major league roster on August 18 and made his MLB debut as a pitcher that night in the ninth inning against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. On August 29, 2020, Eibner was designated for assignment by the Marlins. Eibner was re-selected to the active roster on September 21. Eibner was designated for assignment a second time on September 23. On April 10, 2021, Eibner re-signed with the Marlins on a minor league contract. He elected free agency on November 7, 2021.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eibner, Brett 1988 births Living people Arkansas Razorbacks baseball players Baseball players from Texas Kane County Cougars players Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp players Kansas City Royals players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball pitchers Miami Marlins players Nashville Sounds players Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Oakland Athletics players Oklahoma City Dodgers players Omaha Storm Chasers players People from The Woodlands, Texas Sportspeople from Harris County, Texas Sugar Land Skeeters players Texas AirHogs players United States national baseball team players Wareham Gatemen players Wilmington Blue Rocks players Eastern Reyes del Tigre players