Ronny Alexander Salazar Cedeño (born February 2, 1983), 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 ...
former
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 ...
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 ...
, who 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
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
,
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
,
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
,
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 ...
,
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
,
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 penna ...
, and
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
. Cedeño batted and threw
right-handed
In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...
.
Professional career
Chicago Cubs
Cedeño spent his five-season
minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...
career playing in the Cubs' farm system, reaching the Double-A level in with the
Diamond Jaxx. In 116 games, he posted a .279
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 ...
with six
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 and 48
RBI. He was selected as a midseason
Southern League All-Star.
Cedeño was called up in April,
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
, to replace
Nomar Garciaparra
Anthony Nomar Garciaparra (; born July 23, 1973) is an American retired Major League Baseball player and current SportsNet LA analyst. After playing parts of nine seasons as an All-Star shortstop for the Boston Red Sox, he played shortstop, third ...
on the Cubs' roster. He made big-league debut for the
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
on April 23 but spent most of his time on the bench, as
Neifi Pérez
Neifi Neftali Pérez (; ; born June 2, 1973) is a former Major League baseball player. He was a switch hitter who threw right-handed. During his career, he played with the Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cu ...
was awarded the starting job. After the Cubs signed
Enrique Wilson
Enrique Wilson Martes (born July 27, 1973) is a Dominican former professional baseball player. In his eight-season Major League Baseball career, Wilson played with the Cleveland Indians (1997–2000), Pittsburgh Pirates (2000–01), New York Yan ...
, Cedeño was sent back down to the
Triple-A Iowa Cubs
The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The ...
. In 65 games at Iowa in 2005, Cedeño batted an impressive .355, and
slugged over .500 for the first time in his professional career. He returned to the Cubs in June after Wilson was himself sent down to Iowa.
Cedeño became the team's starting shortstop in
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
. He played in 151 games, hit .245, and had 25 errors. In 2006, he
walked only 3.1% of the time, the lowest percentage in the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
, and 4 of his 17 walks were intentional walks. He also had the Major League's worst walk/
strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...
ratio—0.16.
He played in the 2006 winter league for
Venezuela
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 ...
, and averaged .555 in 45 games with 25 runs and 28 RBI.
Cedeño began
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
with the Major League club on the bench, as the Cubs were set at shortstop and
second base with
César Izturis
César David Izturis (; born February 10, 1980) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball shortstop. He is the half-brother of shortstop Maicer Izturis.
Career
Toronto Blue Jays
Signed by the Toronto Blue Jays as an amateur free agent in ...
and
Mark DeRosa
Mark Thomas DeRosa (born February 26, 1975) is an American former professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 to 2013. He played for the Atlanta Braves (1998–2004), Texas Rangers (2005–2006), Chicago Cubs ...
. His offensive struggles continued, batting .118 at the big league level through August, and he spent several more months in
Triple-A Iowa.
When the Cubs traded their starting
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 ...
Jacque Jones in November 2007, general manager
Jim Hendry
James Hendry (born July 27, 1955) is an American baseball coach and executive. He is a special assistant for New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, and is a former general manager of the Chicago Cubs.
Hendry was promoted to Cubs genera ...
indicated that the club wasn't necessarily looking outside for a veteran, with Cedeño as well as
Félix Pie
Félix Pie Dofen ( ; born February 8, 1985) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the Wild Health Genomes of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, ...
and
Sam Fuld
Samuel Babson Fuld (born November 20, 1981) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and the current general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. He played eight seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Tampa B ...
in the mix. Cedeño was asked to play some center field during the winter.
In
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, Cedeño made the Major League club out of
spring training
Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...
and spent the entire season with the Cubs, playing primarily off the bench as
Reed Johnson
Reed Cameron Johnson (born December 8, 1976) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, and Washingt ...
and later
Jim Edmonds
James Patrick Edmonds (born June 27, 1970) is an American former professional baseball center fielder and a broadcaster for Bally Sports Midwest. He played for the California/Anaheim Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, ...
were signed to play center field and
Ryan Theriot
Ryan may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
*Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
Places Australia
* Division of Ryan, an electo ...
was ensconced at shortstop. As the season progressed, he saw more opportunities to start at second base and shortstop, and got many opportunities off the bench as a
pinch hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...
and defensive replacement. He ended the year hitting .269 with 41 strikeouts in 216 at-bats, making 31 starts at second and 20 at shortstop.
Seattle Mariners
On January 28, 2009, Cedeño was traded with
Garrett Olson
Garrett Andrew Olson (born October 18, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Mets and in the KBO League for ...
to the Seattle Mariners for
Aaron Heilman
Aaron Michael Heilman (born November 12, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Heilman was drafted by the New York Mets out of Notre Dame in 2001. He came up through the Mets system as a starting pitcher, but was converted to ...
. Cedeño replaced
Yuniesky Betancourt as starting
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 ...
for the
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
after Betancourt was put on the DL and later traded to the
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
. Cedeño made 39 starts at shortstop for Seattle, as well as a handful of starts at second, left field, and third base. He batted .167 in 206 plate appearances with Seattle.
Pittsburgh Pirates
On July 29, 2009, Cedeño was traded with
Jeff Clement
Jeffrey Burton Clement (born August 21, 1983) is an American former professional baseball player. Clement was a catcher and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Clement attend ...
, Aaron Pribanic, Brett Lorin, and
Nathan Adcock
Nathan Tennyson Adcock (born 22 April 1978) is a lawyer and former professional cricketer who played for the South Australia cricket team, who he captained for part of the 2007–08 season before being replaced with Graham Manou and dropped f ...
to the
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
for
Jack Wilson and
Ian Snell
Ian Dante Snell (born October 30, 1981) is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Seattle Mariners. From 2001 to 2003, he went by the name Ian Oquendo ...
. He started 42 games at shortstop and batted .258 for Pittsburgh on the year.
Cedeño finished 2009 with 8 doubles, 3 triples, and a career high 10 home runs. He also drove in 38 runs, was issued a then-career high 19 walks, 3 of them intentional, struck out 79 times, and stole 5 bases, to go along with a .208 average, a .256 on-base percentage, a .337 slugging percentage, in 341 at-bats split between Seattle and Pittsburgh.
Cedeño was the Pirates Opening Day shortstop in
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
and he made 132 starts on the year. He was briefly benched by manager
John Russell in June as he struggled with consistency. He finished with a batting line of .256/.293/.382 and 18 errors in the field.
Although the Pirates pursued other shortstops during the off-season as there were questions about Cedeño's focus, he returned as the Opening Day starter in
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
. Cedeño made 118 starts at shortstop on the year with a brief trip to the disabled list in July with a concussion. He batted .249/.297/.339 with 13 errors. At the end of the season, the Pirates decided not to pick up Cedeño's $3 million option and signed
Clint Barmes
Clint Harrold Barmes (, born March 6, 1979) is an American former professional baseball second baseman and shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2003 through 2015 for the Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates, a ...
to play shortstop.
New York Mets
On January 6, 2012, Cedeño signed with 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 ...
for a one-year contract worth $1.2 million. Cedeño served as a reserve infielder, taking over briefly at shortstop when
Rubén Tejada
Rubén Darío Tejada (born October 27, 1989) is a Panamanian professional baseball infielder for the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, ...
was lost to an injury in May. He played in a total of 78 games for the Mets, making 42 starts between second, short, and third, and committing just 4 errors. He surpassed offensive expectations by batting .259 with 4 home runs and a .741
OPS
In ancient Roman religion, Ops or ''Opis'' (Latin: "Plenty") was a fertility deity and earth goddess of Sabine origin. Her equivalent in Greek mythology was Rhea.
Iconography
In Ops' statues and coins, she is figured sitting down, as Chthon ...
in 186 plate appearances.
St Louis Cardinals
On January 28, 2013, Ronny Cedeño signed a one-year contract with the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
. The deal was reported to be for a base salary of $1.15 million with incentives that could have increased to $2 million.
However, the Cardinals released him on March 19 when they made the decision to give the starting shortstop job to
Pete Kozma
Peter Michael Kozma (born April 11, 1988) is an American professional baseball shortstop who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, and the Oakland ...
.
Houston Astros
On March 23, 2013, Cedeño agreed to a deal with the
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
. He and
Marwin González
Marwin Javier González (born March 14, 1989) is a Venezuelan professional baseball utility player for the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). González was signed as an international free agent by the Chicago Cubs in 2005. ...
split time at shortstop, with Cedeño batting .220 with a .558 OPS in 155 plate appearances and making 11 errors in 37 starts. He was designated for assignment on July 22, 2013, and was released on July 28, as the Astros called up prospect
Jonathan Villar
Jonathan Rafael Villar Roque (born May 2, 1991) is a Dominican professional baseball second baseman who is a free agent. He has previously played in MLB for the Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimore Orioles, Miami Marlins, Toronto Bl ...
.
San Diego Padres
On August 3, 2013, Cedeño agreed to a minor league contract 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 penna ...
, in case starting shortstop
Everth Cabrera
Everth Cabrera (born November 17, 1986) is a Nicaraguan professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres and Baltimore Orioles. He led the National League (NL) in stolen bases in 2012, and was a ...
was suspended in the
Biogenesis scandal
The Biogenesis scandal broke in 2013 when several Major League Baseball (MLB) players were accused of obtaining performance-enhancing drugs ("PEDs"), specifically human growth hormone, from the now-defunct rejuvenation clinic Biogenesis of Americ ...
. He was assigned to their High-A affiliate, the
Lake Elsinore Storm
The Lake Elsinore Storm are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The Storm plays their home games at Lake Elsinore Diamond (Pete Lehr Field), which opened in 1994; the park se ...
. After Cabrera was suspended, the Padres promoted Cedeño to the major leagues on August 6. He served as the Padres primary shortstop until he was hit in the head by a
Heath Bell
Heath Justin Bell (born September 29, 1977) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. As a closer with the San Diego Padres from 2009 to 2011, Bell was a three-time All-Star and twice won the Rolaids Relief Man Award. He was ...
pitch on September 23. Although Cedeño never lost consciousness, he sat out the last week of the season with concussion-like symptoms. He made 34 starts at short for the Padres, making 2 errors and hitting .268 with 2 homers and a .684 OPS.
Philadelphia Phillies
On January 13, 2014, Cedeño signed a minor league contract with an invitation to
spring training
Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...
to play for the
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
. He was released on March 25 and re-signed on April 2. He was outrighted off the roster on June 28, 2014.
Arizona Diamondbacks
On June 29, 2014, the Phillies traded Cedeño to 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 f ...
in exchange for Raywilly Gomez. On October 11 he refused his minor league assignment and became a free agent.
San Francisco Giants
Cedeño signed a minor league contract with 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 Yor ...
in February 2015. On February 24, 2015 he was assigned to 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 yea ...
, but was released July 8.
Unipol Bologna
Cedeño spent the 2016 season with
Unipol Bologna of the
Italian Baseball League
The Italian Baseball League (IBL; Italian: ') is a professional baseball league that is governed by FIBS (Italian Baseball & Softball Federation), which has its headquarters in Rome. The IBL is a wood bat league in which both composite and alumi ...
where he led the team with a .530
slugging percentage
In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...
.
Olmecas de Tabasco
He signed with the
Olmecas de Tabasco
The Olmecas de Tabasco (English: Tabasco Olmecs) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico. Their home ballpark is the Estadio Centenario 27 de Febrero.
The Olmecas won their only Mexican Leag ...
of the
Mexican Baseball League
The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country.
The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...
for the 2016 season. He was released on April 21, 2017.
Venezuelan Professional Baseball League
Cedeño spent 2016–20 with
Navegantes del Magallanes
The Navegantes del Magallanes (Magellan Navigators), commonly known as Magallanes, are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in Valencia, Magallanes has won 13 LVBP championships and two (2) Caribbean Series. It wa ...
of the
Venezuelan Professional Baseball League
The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year.
History Early years
Baseball exp ...
and the 2020–21 season with
Leones del Caracas
The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A. or better known by its commercial name as the ''Leones del Caracas'', is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In its creation, its headquarters are the University Stadium of C ...
.
See also
*
List of Major League Baseball players from Venezuela
From 1939 to 2019, 397 Venezuelan baseball players born in Venezuela have played in Major League Baseball. This list shows players who appeared in at least one game in MLB, including number indicating order of arrival, name of player, position, ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cedeno, Ronny
1983 births
Living people
Arizona League Cubs players
Boise Hawks players
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Chicago Cubs players
Daytona Cubs players
Guerreros de Oaxaca players
Fortitudo Baseball Bologna players
Houston Astros players
Indianapolis Indians players
Iowa Cubs players
Lake Elsinore Storm players
Lansing Lugnuts players
Lehigh Valley IronPigs players
Major League Baseball players from Venezuela
Major League Baseball shortstops
Mesa Solar Sox players
Mexican League baseball shortstops
Navegantes del Magallanes players
New York Mets players
People from Puerto Cabello
Philadelphia Phillies players
Pittsburgh Pirates players
Reno Aces players
Sacramento River Cats players
San Diego Padres players
Seattle Mariners players
St. Lucie Mets players
Tigres de Aragua players
West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players
Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Italy
Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Mexico
Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States
Unipol Bologna players