Jeimer Candelario ( ; born November 24, 1993) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Modern professional ...
third baseman
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 ...
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 ...
of
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). He has previously played in MLB for the
Chicago Cubs and
Detroit Tigers.
Early life
Candelario was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and moved to the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
when he was five years old so that his father could open a baseball training center.
Career
Minors
Candelario signed with the
Chicago Cubs in September 2010. He made his professional debut the next year with the
Dominican Summer League Cubs. Candelario spent 2012 with the
Boise Hawks
The Boise Hawks are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. Home games are played at Memorial Stadium in Garden City, Idaho, a small city surroun ...
of the
Class A-Short Season
Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...
Northwest League
The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Basebal ...
and the 2013 season with the
Kane County Cougars
The Kane County Cougars are an independent professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play thei ...
of the
Class A Midwest League
The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...
. He spent 2014 with Kane County and the
Daytona Cubs Daytona refers to the city of Daytona Beach, Florida, or things named after it.
Daytona may also refer to:
Locations
* Daytona Beach Shores, Florida
* South Daytona, Florida
* The Daytona Beach metropolitan area
* Halifax area, also known as ...
. He started 2015 with the
Myrtle Beach Pelicans
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games are played at TicketReturn.com Field, which open ...
of the
Class A-Advanced
High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...
Carolina League
The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...
and was promoted to the
Tennessee Smokies
The Tennessee Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Kodak, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They play at Smokies Stadium, directly off ...
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 ...
Southern League during the season. The Cubs added him to their
40-man roster
A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...
after the season.
With the
Iowa Cubs in 2016, Candelario batted .333 in his first 25 games for the
Iowa Cubs of the
Class AAA
Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...
Pacific Coast League.
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs promoted Candelario to the major league team on July 3, 2016, to replace
Chris Coghlan
Christopher B. Coghlan (pronounced KAHG-lihn; born June 18, 1985) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Florida / Miami Marlins, Oakland Athletics, and Toronto Blue ...
, who was placed on the disabled list. He made his major-league debut the same day, 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 ...
. He was optioned back to Iowa on July 9. Candelario appeared in five games for the Cubs in 2016 and finished with a .091 batting average. The Cubs went on to win the
2016 World Series
The 2016 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2016 season. The 112th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Chicago Cubs and the American Leag ...
. Candelario was not included on the Cubs' postseason roster, but was still on the 40-man roster at the time and won his first World Series title.
Detroit Tigers
On July 31, 2017, Candelario was traded along with
Isaac Paredes, and a player to be named later or cash considerations, to the
Detroit Tigers in exchange for
Alex Avila and
Justin Wilson. The Tigers assigned him to the
Toledo Mud Hens
The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...
of the Class AAA
International League. On August 7, the Tigers promoted Candelario to the major leagues from Toledo. With the 2017 Tigers, Candelario went 31-for-94 (.330) while hitting 2 home runs and driving in 13.
2018
Candelario began the 2018 as the Tigers regular third baseman. On May 14, he was placed on the 10-day disabled list with left wrist tendinitis. On May 26, in just his second game after returning from the disabled list, Candelario had the first multiple-homer game of his career as he went deep in his first two at-bats against
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 ...
starter
Hector Santiago Hector Santiago or Héctor Santiago may refer to:
* Hector Santiago (baseball) (born 1987), American professional baseball pitcher
* Héctor Santiago (playwright) (born 1944), Cuban playwright
See also
* Héctor Santiago-Colón
{{Human name di ...
. For the 2018 season, Candelario hit .224 with 19 home runs and 54 RBI.
2019
In an 11-inning contest against the
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
on March 31, 2019, Candelario had five hits in a game for the first time in his career. After struggling to a .192 batting average with 46 strikeouts in his first 146 at-bats of 2019, Candelario was optioned to the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens. He would get called up towards the end of the season. Overall, he finished the season hitting .203 with 8 home runs and 32 RBI.
2020
Candelario began the 2020 season at third base for the Tigers, but was moved to first base following an injury to
C. J. Cron. He was named AL Player of the Week for September 7–13, 2020, his first such honor. In eight games during the week, Candelario hit .423 (11-for-26) with four
doubles, three home runs, nine RBIs, four walks and a .923 slugging percentage.
During a
doubleheader on September 10 (each game shortened to seven innings per 2020 MLB rules), Candelario hit a home run in each game, becoming the first Tiger to do so since
Leonys Martín
Leonys Martín Tápanes (born March 6, 1988), nicknamed "Ikadi", is a Cuban-American professional baseball center fielder who is currently a free agent. Born in Cuba, he played locally for Villa Clara of the Cuban National Series, and for the ...
in 2018.
[ For the 2020 season, Candelario hit .297 with seven home runs and 29 RBIs in 52 games, and led the Tigers with 21 extra-base hits.
]
2021
On January 15, 2021, the Tigers and Candelario agreed to a one-year, $2.85 million contract, avoiding arbitration. Candelario hit .271 for the season, with 16 home runs, 67 RBIs, and an MLB-leading 42 doubles. For the second straight season, Candelario led the Tigers in extra-base hits, with 61, and also finished with a team-best 3.2 Wins Above Replacement (WAR). Candelario was named Tiger of the Year for the second straight season by the Detroit chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He is the first player since Miguel Cabrera
José Miguel Cabrera Torres (born April 18, 1983), nicknamed "Miggy", is a Venezuelan professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Since his debut in 2003 he has been a two-t ...
(2012 and 2013) to win this award in back-to-back seasons.
2022
On March 22, 2022, Candelario signed a one-year, $5.8 million contract with the Tigers, avoiding salary arbitration. On June 7, 2022 he was placed on the Tigers' 10-day IL with a left shoulder subluxation, retroactive to June 6, 2022. He hit .217 with 13 home runs and 50 RBIs for the 2022 season. On November 18, he was non tendered and became a free agent.
Washington Nationals
On November 29, 2022, Candelario signed a one-year contract for $5 million and another $1 million in achievable incentives with 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 ...
.[https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2022/11/29/detroit-tigers-jeimer-candelario-signs-contract-washington-nationals-mlb/69685866007/]
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Candelario, Jeimer
1993 births
Living people
Águilas Cibaeñas players
American sportspeople of Dominican Republic descent
Boise Hawks players
Chicago Cubs players
Daytona Cubs players
Detroit Tigers players
Dominican Summer League Cubs players
Iowa Cubs players
Kane County Cougars players
Major League Baseball third basemen
Mesa Solar Sox players
Myrtle Beach Pelicans players
Baseball players from New York City
Tennessee Smokies players
Toledo Mud Hens players
Toros del Este players
2023 World Baseball Classic players