Donovan Solano Preciado (born December 17, 1987) is a Colombian

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 ...

second baseman for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

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(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

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 ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

and

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. Solano signed as an international

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with the

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in 2005. He made his MLB debut with the Marlins in 2012.

Professional career

Solano was born and raised in

Barranquilla, Colombia Barranquilla () is the capital district of Atlántico Department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean Coast region; as of 2018 it had a population of 1,206,319, making it Col ...

St. Louis Cardinals

Solano signed as an international

with the

in 2005. He spent seven seasons in the Cardinals organization as a backup

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

, but never made it to the major leagues with them. In 2008, he was a mid-season All Star with the

Palm Beach Cardinals The Palm Beach Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roge ...

in the Class A-Advanced

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

Miami Marlins

In 2012, the

invited Solano to

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as a non-roster invitee. Solano competed for the reserve infielder role with the Marlins, but the job went to

Donnie Murphy Donald Rex Murphy (born March 10, 1983) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He attended Riverside Polytechnic High School and Orange Coast College, Orange Coast Community College in Costa Mesa, California, and was selected by th ...

and Solano was assigned to the New Orleans Zephyrs of the

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. He received his first promotion to MLB by the Marlins on May 20, 2012, becoming the 12th Colombian-born player to reach the major leagues, at 24 years of age. On May 23, 2012, he singled in his first career at-bat. Solano's first career major league start was on May 26, 2012, against the

. He went 2-for-4 with two hits and a

run batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

. With the trade of

Hanley Ramírez Hanley Ramírez (born December 23, 1983) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Florida / Miami Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Cleveland Indians. Ram� ...

to the

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 ...

in July 2012, Solano competed with Donnie Murphy and

Greg Dobbs Gregory Stuart Dobbs (born July 2, 1978), is an American former professional baseball infielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, Florida / Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals. Dobbs ...

for playing time at

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, as

Emilio Bonifacio Emilio may refer to: * Emilio Navaira, a Mexican-American singer often called "Emilio" * Emilio Piazza Memorial School, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State * Emilio (given name) * ''Emilio'' (film), a 2008 film by Kim Jorgensen See also * Emílio (dis ...

took over second base following the trade that sent

Omar Infante Omar Rafael Infante n-FAHN-tay(born December 26, 1981) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Atlanta Braves, Miami ...

to the

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. After Bonifacio injured his knee, Solano took over second while Murphy, Dobbs, and Gil Velazquez competed to be the starting third baseman. Solano finished the season batting .295/.342/.375 in 285 at bats with two home runs, 11 doubles, three triples, 28 RBIs, 21 walks, and seven stolen bases. He was named to the ''

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'' Major League All Rookie Team. The Marlins placed Solano on the disabled list on May 7, 2013, retroactive to May 4. He returned and played in 102 games, batting .249/.305/.316. He batted .316 with

runners in scoring position In the sport of baseball, a baserunner is said to be in scoring position when they are on second or third base. The distinction between being on first base and second or third base is that a runner on first can usually only score if the batter h ...

. He was named the Wilson Team Defensive Player of the Year, playing primarily second base. In 2014, he appeared in 111 games for the Marlins, batting .252/.300/.323. In 2015, his last year with Miami, he appeared in only 55 games, splitting time between

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

, third base, and second base, with a dismal .189 batting average.

New York Yankees

On January 9, 2016, the

signed Solano to a minor league contract. He spent the 2016 season with the Class AAA

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...

, with whom he was a postseason All-Star after batting .319 (eighth in the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

)/.349/.436 with 33 doubles (tied for third in the league), seven home runs, seven sacrifice flies (leading the league), and 67 RBIs (tied for fourth) in 511 at-bats. He was promoted to the major leagues on September 18, following an injury to Starlin Castro, and in 22 at-bats he hit .227/.261/.455. The Yankees outrighted him to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after the regular season. He spent the entire 2017 season with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, hitting .282/.329/.391 with 44 runs, 29 doubles (tied for 9th in the league), four home runs, and 48 RBIs in 373 at bats. He batted .330 with runners in scoring position. Following the season, he played for

Tigres del Licey Tigres del Licey (English: Licey Tigers) is a professional baseball team in the Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM). The team was founded in 1907 and based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It is one of two LIDOM franchises based in ...

of the

Dominican Winter League Dominican may refer to: * Someone or something from or related to the Dominican Republic ( , stress on the "mi"), on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles, in the Caribbean ** People of the Dominican Republic ** Demographics of the Domi ...

, hitting .371/.400/.468 in 62 at bats. He elected free agency on November 6, 2017.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On January 19, 2018, the

signed Solano to a minor league contract. He played in 81 games for the Class AAA

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 Ba ...

of the Pacific Coast League, batting .318./.353/.430 in 314 at-bats.

San Francisco Giants

On December 18, 2018, Solano signed a minor league deal with the

. With the Class AAA

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 ...

of the Pacific Coast League, in 2019 he batted .322/.392/.437 with two home runs and 16 RBIs in 87 at-bats. With the Giants in 2019, he batted .330/.360/.456 with 27 runs, four home runs, and 23 RBIs in 215 at-bats, and had a

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rate that led all players in the league with 200 or more at-bats (33.9%), as he played primarily second base while also pinch hitting, playing shortstop, and appearing at third base. In December, he and the Giants agreed to a one-year, $1.375 million contract. On September 1, 2020, Solano had a career-high 6 RBIs in a 23-5 blowout win over the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

. He ended the 2020 season batting a career-high .326 (5th in the NL)/.365/.463, with a career-high 15 doubles (fourth), three home runs, 29 RBIs, and three sacrifice flies (seventh) in 190 at-bats in 54 games, which won him the

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's second baseman

Silver Slugger Award The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. These voters co ...

. In the 2021 regular season, Solano batted .280/.344/.404 with 35 runs, seven home runs, and 31 RBIs in 307 at bats. He primarily played second base, with two games at shortstop. His salary was $3.25 million. Solano became a free agent following the 2021 season.

Cincinnati Reds

Donovan Solano (220902-F-JW079-1343) (cropped)

On March 16, 2022, Solano signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract with the

. In April, Solano received a platelet-rich plasma injection to address lingering pain in his left hamstring, and was placed on the 60-day injured list on May 23. After starting the season on the injured list, he made his first appearance for the Reds on June 22, 2022. Solano appeared in 80 games for Cincinnati, slashing .284/.339/.385 with 4 home runs and 24 RBI.

Minnesota Twins

On February 23, 2023, Solano signed a one-year, major league contract with the

International career

He was a member of Team Colombia in the

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...

, along with his brother Jhonatan. Solano batted 3-for-14 and Colombia was eliminated in the first round.

Personal life

Solano is a Christian. His brother,

Jhonatan Solano Jhonatan Solano (born August 12, 1985) is a Colombian former professional baseball catcher. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Nationals and Miami Marlins. He made his MLB debut in 2012. Career Washington National ...

, is a

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

who made his debut in 2012 for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Solano, Donovan 1987 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players Arizona League Dodgers players Cincinnati Reds players Colombian expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Colombian expatriate baseball players in the United States Johnson City Cardinals players Jupiter Hammerheads players Major League Baseball players from Colombia Major League Baseball second basemen Memphis Redbirds players Miami Marlins players New Jersey Cardinals players New Orleans Zephyrs players New York Yankees players Oklahoma City Dodgers players Palm Beach Cardinals players Sacramento River Cats players San Francisco Giants players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Silver Slugger Award winners Sportspeople from Barranquilla Springfield Cardinals players State College Spikes players Swing of the Quad Cities players Tigres del Licey players 2017 World Baseball Classic players