Domingo Junior Leyba Santana (born September 11, 1995) is a Dominican

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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

infielder who is a free agent. He previously 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

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

Career

Detroit Tigers

Leyba was signed by the Detroit Tigers as an international free agent in July 2012. He made his professional debut in 2013 with the Dominican Summer League Tigers and spent the whole season there where he led the league with a .348

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

in 57 games. He spent 2014 with the

Connecticut Tigers The Norwich Sea Unicorns are a baseball team located in Norwich, Connecticut. From 2010 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They play th ...

and

West Michigan Whitecaps The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpa ...

, hitting .323 with two home runs and 24 RBIs in 67 games.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On December 5, 2014, the Tigers traded Leyba and

Robbie Ray Robert Glenn Ray (born October 1, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Detroit Tigers, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Toronto Blue Jays. Ray was an M ...

to the

as part of a three-team trade, with the Diamondbacks sending

Didi Gregorius Mariekson Julius "Didi" Gregorius (born February 18, 1990) is a Dutch professional baseball shortstop who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees and Philadel ...

to the

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

and the Yankees sending

Shane Greene Shane Greene (born November 17, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has previously played in MLB for the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers. The Yankees select ...

to the Tigers. He spent 2015 with the

Visalia Rawhide The Visalia Rawhide are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Visalia, California, and have played their home games at Valley Strong Ballpark since thei ...

where he batted .237 with two home runs and 43 RBIs in 124 games and 2016 with Visalia and the

Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–2 ...

where he slashed .296/.355/.429 with ten home runs and 60 RBIs in 130 games. The Diamondbacks added him to their 40-man roster after the 2016 season. In 2017, he played in only 23 games due to injury. He spent all of 2018 with the

Jackson Generals The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (SL) as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1998–2006), Seattle Mari ...

, batting .269 with five home runs and 30 RBIs in 86 games. He began 2019 with the

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, which opened in 2009. ...

. On June 22, 2019, he was called up to the major leagues for the first time. He made his that debut that night, recording a pinch-hit single off of

Mark Melancon Mark David Melancon ( ; born March 28, 1985) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pira ...

of the

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 Y ...

. Leyba played in 21 major league games in 2019, mainly as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement. He collected a total of seven hits, including two doubles and a triple, batting.280. On March 6, 2020, Leyba was suspended for the first 80 games of the 2020 season for testing positive for boldenone. Due to Major League Baseball shortening the season to 60 games because 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 identi ...

, Leyba was essentially ruled out for the entire year. On November 20, 2020, Leyba was outrighted off of the 40-man roster following the waiver claim of Rogelio Armenteros. On May 15, 2021, Leyba was selected to the 40-man roster. He was designated for assignment on June 2 after going hitless in 24 plate appearances across 13 games for Arizona.

Baltimore Orioles

On June 4, 2021, Leyba was claimed off waivers by the

. Leyba hit his first career home run on July 2 on the road against Griffin Canning of the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

. On August 4, Leyba was designated for assignment by the Orioles. On August 8, Leyba cleared waivers and was assigned outright to the Triple-A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

. On August 19, Leyba was released by the Orioles.

Texas Rangers

On September 3, 2021, Leyba signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers and was assigned to the Triple-A

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

. Leyba played in 24 games for Round Rock, hitting .288 with 4 home runs and 26 RBI's. Leyba became a free agent following the season.

San Diego Padres

On December 14, 2021, Leyba signed with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

. He elected free agency on November 10, 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leyba, Domingo 1995 births Living people Sportspeople from Santo Domingo Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball infielders Arizona Diamondbacks players Baltimore Orioles players Dominican Summer League Tigers players Connecticut Tigers players West Michigan Whitecaps players Hillsboro Hops players Visalia Rawhide players Mobile BayBears players Jackson Generals (Southern League) players Reno Aces players Round Rock Express players El Paso Chihuahuas players San Antonio Missions players Glendale Desert Dogs players Estrellas Orientales players