Luis Alexander Basabe (born August 26, 1996) is a Venezuelan

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 ...

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 c ...

who is currently 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

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 ...

. Listed at 6' 0" , 160 lb. , he is a switch hitter and throws right handed. 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 eigh ...

signed Basabe as an international amateur

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2012. He made his MLB debut in 2020.

Career

Boston Red Sox

The

signed Basabe as an international amateur

in 2012 out of Venezuela for $450,000, at the same time that they signed his twin brother, Luis Alejandro Basabe. Basabe gained attention from

scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpack ...

due to his tool set at a young age, displaying plus speed, plus arm strength in

center field 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 ...

, raw power, athleticism, plate discipline, and the ability to hit from both sides of the plate. From 2013–2015, the Basabes played together after signing in the Dominican Summer and Gulf Coast leagues. He finished the year with the

GCL 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 ...

, hitting .248/.328/.324 in 32 games, before being promoted to the

Lowell Spinners The Lowell Spinners were a baseball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. With Major League ...

the next season. Basabe hit .243/.340/.401 with 15 runs and 13 RBIs in 56 games for the Spinners in 2015, tying for third with teammate Andrew Benintendi in the short-season

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

with seven

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 ...

s despite being its third-youngest regular at age 18 in a league full of former college players. He showed speed on the basepaths as well, leading Lowell with 15 stolen bases. That was also good for 10th in the NYPL. Besides, he became the first player in Lowell's 20-year history to homer from both sides of the plate in one game, doing so in June and again in July, and also represented his team in the NYPL All-Star Game. Basabe opened 2016 at Low-A Class

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 E ...

, where he showed his potential and rare combination of power and speed in 105 games. Though he scuffled in the first half, Basabe emerged in the second half and hit .298/.361/.502, including a .363 average in the month of July, to bring his season line to .261/.328/.451, hitting 8 triples (fourth in 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 ...

), 12 home runs, and stealing 25 bases (ninth in the league) while being caught only five times. In addition, he drove in 52 runs and scored 61 times. Furthermore, he was selected to the

post-season All-Star team, and a ''Baseball America'' Low Class A All Star. After being promoted to the

Salem Red Sox The Salem Red Sox are a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB), based in Salem, an independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia. The team competes at the Single-A level in the Carolina League. Ho ...

for the last week of the season and postseason, Basabe seemed to be fitting right into High-A Class. In five games, he went 8-for-22 and slashed .364/.391/.545 with two doubles and one

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

. Overall, he ranked fourth among the Sox minor leaguers in steals, sixth in homers, seventh in runs, eighth in triples (8), and tenth in hits (104) and doubles (24).2016 Boston Red Sox Minor League batting statistics
''SoxProspects.com''. Retrieved on September 1, 2016. He was eligible for selection in the Rule 5 draft in December.

Chicago White Sox

On December 6, 2016, Basabe was traded to 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 ...

, along with Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, and Victor Diaz, for

Chris Sale Christopher Allen Sale (born March 30, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox, with whom he made his major league debut ...

. He spent his first season in the White Sox organization with the High-A

Winston-Salem Dash The Winston-Salem Dash are a Minor League Baseball team in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They are a High-A team in the South Atlantic League and have been a farm team of the Chicago White Sox since 1997. The Dash began playing their home games a ...

where he batted .221/.320/.320 with five home runs, 17 stolen bases (while being caught 6 times), and 36 RBIs. The White Sox added Basabe to their 40-man roster after the 2017 season. He spent 2018 with Winston-Salem, with whom he was a mid-season Carolina League All Star, and the Double AA Birmingham Barons, slashing .258/.354/.445 with 15 home runs, 56 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases (while being caught 12 times) over 119 games. He was an All-Star Futures Game selection with Birmingham. Basabe spent a majority of 2019 with Birmingham while also playing in five games with the

Kannapolis Intimidators Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan counties, in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte and is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The city of Kannapolis was incorporated in 1984. The ...

, batting .250/.331/.341 with three home runs and 10 stolen bases (while being caught five times) over 74 games between the two teams. On August 4, 2020, Basabe was designated for assignment following the selection of Brady Lail to the 40-man roster.

San Francisco Giants

On August 9, Basabe was traded to the

in exchange for cash considerations. On August 27, 2020, he was promoted to the major leagues for the first time and made his debut that day against 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 ...

. On February 4, 2021, Basabe was designated for assignment by the Giants to open a 40-man roster spot for Tommy La Stella. On February 11, Basabe was outrighted to the Triple-A

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 ...

Chicago White Sox (second stint)

On November 21, 2021, Basabe signed a minor league contract with the

. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

to begin the 2022 season. After limping to an .080/.115/.160 slash with no home runs or RBI in 9 games for Charlotte, Basabe was released by the White Sox organization on May 3, 2022.https://www.milb.com/player/luis-alexander-basabe-642772

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basabe, Luis Alexander 1996 births Living people Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Major League Baseball outfielders San Francisco Giants players Dominican Summer League Red Sox players Gulf Coast Red Sox players Lowell Spinners players Greenville Drive players Salem Red Sox players Winston-Salem Dash players Leones del Caracas players Birmingham Barons players Glendale Desert Dogs players Kannapolis Intimidators players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic People from Mérida (state)