Xavier James Edwards (born August 9, 1999) 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 ...

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 wh ...

in the Miami Marlins organization.

Amateur career

Edwards graduated from

North Broward Preparatory School North Broward Preparatory School (NBPS) is a PK– 12 private, boarding and day co-educational college-preparatory school in Coconut Creek, Florida, United States. It was founded in 1957 by James Montgomery. The school was originally located ...

Coconut Creek, Florida Coconut Creek is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. Situated north of Miami, it had a population of 57,833 in 2020. It is part of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city seceded from ...

. As a senior, he batted .406 with 16

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 ba ...

, 24 stolen bases, and a .532 on-base percentage for the school's baseball team. He committed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

Professional career

San Diego Padres

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 ...

selected Edwards with the 38th overall selection in the 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft and signed for $2.6 million. He made his professional debut with the

AZL Padres The Arizona Complex League Padres are a Rookie-level affiliate of the San Diego Padres, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona, which is also the ...

and was promoted to the

Tri-City Dust Devils The Tri-City Dust Devils are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Pasco, Washington. The Dust Devils are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Los Angeles Angels. Tri-City plays their home ga ...

in August. In 45 total games between the two teams, Edwards slashed .346/.453/.409 with 16 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. In 2019, he began with the

Fort Wayne TinCaps The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and play their home games at Parkview Field. They won their lone Midwest Le ...

, earning

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 ...

All-Star honors. After slashing .336/.392/.414 with one home run, 30 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases over 77 games, he was promoted to 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 s ...

in July. During 46 games with Lake Elsinore, he hit .301/.349/.367 with 14 stolen bases. After the season, on October 10, 2019, he was selected for the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Team USA won the Olympic baseball t ...

in the 2019 WBSC Premier 12.

Tampa Bay Rays

On December 6, 2019, Edwards,

Hunter Renfroe Dustin Hunter Renfroe (born January 28, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox, an ...

, and a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

(PTBNL) were traded to the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

in exchange for

Tommy Pham Thomas James Pham (born March 8, 1988) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds, and Boston R ...

and Jake Cronenworth. The PTBNL, Esteban Quiroz, was named in March 2020. Edwards did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the season. In 2021, he played for the

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

, slashing .302/.377/.368 with 27 RBIs and 19 stolen bases over 79 games.

Miami Marlins

On November 15, 2022, Edwards was traded to the Miami Marlins along with J. T. Chargois in exchange for Marcus Johnson and Santiago Suarez. Edwards was optioned to the Triple-A

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

to begin the 2023 season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Xavier 1999 births Living people African-American baseball players Arizona League Padres players Baseball shortstops Baseball players from New York (state) Fort Wayne TinCaps players Lake Elsinore Storm players People from Mineola, New York Tri-City Dust Devils players United States national baseball team players 2019 WBSC Premier12 players 21st-century African-American sportspeople