Luis Alejandro Basabe (born August 26, 1996) is a

Venezuelan Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

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 who is a free agent.

Career

In 2012, the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

made a pair of international signings that were unusual. The team signed identical twins from Venezuela, both named Luis Basabe, both switch-hitters who throw right-handed, both were around the same size and weight, and each of whom signed for a $450,000 bonus when they turned 16 on August 26. Relatively new to baseball, the Basabe twins started to play the game a short time before signing, as they spent most of their childhood playing soccer. Luis Alejandro is a

middle 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. ...

with plus speed, an advanced glove and limited power but outstanding feel to reach first base without the benefit of a base hit. He also has shown better ability to manipulate the bat head than his brother, Luis Alexander, a speedy

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...

with a strong arm who has raw power and potential to add strength. They debuted with the

Dominican Summer League Red Sox The Dominican Summer League Red Sox, often called the DSL Red Sox, are a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball, playing in the foreign Dominican Summer League. The team, classed as a Rookie League franchise, ...

in its 2013 season. In his first season, Luis Alejandro appeared in 58 of the team's 70 games. He

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

just .192 with one

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and 14

runs 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 ...

(RBI), but compiled a .332

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

with 25

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...

and nine

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s in 11 attempts. Basabe then was limited to 29 games in 2014 because of injury, and finished with a .222/.403/.273

slash line S sabermetrics :Sabermetrics is the analysis of baseball through objective evidence, especially baseball statistics. The term is derived from the SABR – the Society for American Baseball Research. The term was coined by Bill James, an e ...

, 19 runs, and nine steals. Once recovered from his injury, Basabe joined the

Gulf Coast League Red Sox The Florida Complex League Red Sox are a professional baseball team competing in the rookie-level Florida Complex League (FCL) of Minor League Baseball. The team is owned and operated by the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior ...

in 2015, dividing his playing time between second base and

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 ...

in only 28 games, as he was sidelined by another injury. Even so, Basabe improved his average to .260 and recorded a .387 OBP, while scoring 22 runs with six RBI, and eight steals. In 2016, Basabe was moved up two levels and rejoined his sibling twin with the

Greenville Drive The Greenville Drive are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greenville, South Carolina. They are the High-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and are a member of the South Atlantic League. They play their home games at Fluor Field at the West En ...

, where Luis Alejandro had his breakthrough season. He was unstoppable out of the leadoff spot from that Spring, reaching base safely in 46 of his first 50 games, including 17 multi-

contests, 38 runs, 18 RBI, and a club-high 13 stolen bases, all while posting a .311/.414/.463 line. Basabe was selected as utility infielder for the Southern Division team at the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

All-Star Game. On July 9, 2016, the Arizona Diamondbacks acquired Basabe and right-handed pitcher Jose Almonte from the Red Sox in exchange for relief pitcher

Brad Ziegler Brad Gregory Ziegler (born October 10, 1979) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, and Miami Marlins. Ziegler was one of th ...

.The Boston Red Sox announced that they have traded 2B Luis Alejandro Basabe and Jose Almonte to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for RP Brad Ziegler
July 9, 2016. SoxProspects. ''SoxProspects.com''. Retrieved on July 9, 2016. Basabe was assigned to the D-Backs’

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

, 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 their ho ...

, and he finished the season there. In 109 total games between Greenville and Kane County, Basabe batted .272 with seven home runs and 38 RBI. He returned to Kane County in 2017 and played in 53 games, batting .229, with two home runs, and seven RBI. He missed the last three months of the season due to a knee injury that ultimately required surgery. In 2018, Basabe split time between Kane County and 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 their ...

, batting .249 with two home runs and 22 RBIs in 90 games between the two clubs. He spent 2019 with Visalia,
/ref> slashing .293/.402/.390 with four home runs, 51 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases over 117 games. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by 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 ...

References

External links

MiLB.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basabe, Luis Alejandro 1996 births Living people Baseball second basemen Dominican Summer League Red Sox players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Greenville Drive players Kane County Cougars players Visalia Rawhide players Leones del Caracas players People from Mérida (state) Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Amarillo Sod Poodles players