Dayán Viciedo Pérez (born March 10, 1989) is a Cuban professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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for the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos of the

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. He has previously played in

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(MLB) for the

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, and in

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(NPB) for the

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011 ...

Early life

Viciedo entered Cuba's National Series at age 15 for Villa Clara, and was often compared to Cuban legend Omar Linares, his idol. Viciedo struggled in his first season in the national series, hitting only .243 through the season's first 50 games. However, in his second season, at age sixteen, he hit .337 with 14

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s. Viciedo was selected to Cuba's provisional 60-player roster for the

2006 World Baseball Classic The 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was the inaugural tournament between national baseball teams that included players from Major League Baseball. It was held from March 3 to 20 in stadiums in or around Tokyo, Japan, and the American cities o ...

, but was not included in the final team. On May 20, 2008, Viciedo defected from Cuba with his family on a boat bound for Mexico. Once in Mexico he crossed the border to the United States and went to Miami where he was reunited with some of his family. He was approved as a declared free agent by Major League Baseball on November 10, 2008.

Professional career

Chicago White Sox

Minor leagues

Viciedo agreed to a four-year, $10 million contract with the

on December 12, 2008. The contract included a $4 million signing bonus, and paid $1 million in 2009, $1.25 million in 2010 and 2011, as well as $2.5 million in 2012. Signing with the White Sox reunited him with fellow Cuban countryman, Alexei Ramírez. Viciedo began the season with the Double–A

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The Baron ...

of the Southern League. During the season, he hit .280 with 12 home runs and 78 RBI. Viciedo was batting .290, with 14 home runs and 34 RBI in 238 at bats with Triple–A

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

before getting called up by the

on June 17, 2010. He finished the season batting .274 with 20 home runs and 47 RBI in 343 at-bats. Viciedo moved to right field at the beginning of the 2011 season in an attempt to get him up to the Major League level faster. He was batting .296, with 20 home runs and 78 RBI in 452 at bats with Triple–A Charlotte before being called up by the White Sox on August 26, 2011 because of an injury to Carlos Quentin.

Major leagues

On June 17, 2010, it was announced that Viciedo would be called up to the major leagues for the first time. In his first Major League game against the

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he recorded his first hit en route to a White Sox 6–3 win. Viciedo recorded his first Major League home run on July 5, against Scott Kazmir of the

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, and two days later, on July 7, recorded his first career double against Joe Saunders of the

. In 2010, he played in 38 games and batted .308 with 5 home runs and 13 RBI. In 2011, Viciedo appeared in 29 games and hit .255 with 1 home run and 6 RBI. He would take on a starting role in 2012, and hit career-highs with games played (147), home runs (25), and RBI (78) while recording a .255 batting average. In 2013, Viciedo suffered an oblique strain in April that required a stint on the 15-day disabled list. In 124 games he would hit .265 with 14 home runs and 56 RBI. 2014 would see Viciedo play in 145 games, batting a career-low .231 with 21 home runs and 58 RBI. He signed a one-year contract worth $4.4 million with the White Sox on January 12, 2015, to avoid arbitration. However, he was designated for assignment on January 28, and released on February 4.

Oakland Athletics

On March 1, 2015, Viciedo signed a minor league contract with 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) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. He would have earned $2.5 million if he made the 25-man roster, however he requested and was granted his release on March 31. On June 12, 2015, Viciedo signed a minor league contract with the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

. He was released on July 30 after hitting just .221 in 113 at bats for the Athletics' Triple–A club, the

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

Chicago White Sox (second stint)

On August 1, 2015, Viciedo signed a minor league contract to return to the

organization. In 36 appearances for the Triple-A

, Viciedo batted .341/.401/.544 with seven home runs and 20 RBI.

Chunichi Dragons

On December 1, 2015, Viciedo signed a one–year, $1.4 million contract with the

. Viciedo started his Japanese career hitting a Japanese record for a foreign player, with three home runs in the first three opening games against the

Hanshin Tigers The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, next to their main stadium, Hanshin Koshien Stadium. The Tigers are owned by Hanshin Electric Railway Co., ...

at the Kyocera Dome. Viciedo was selected for

Central League The or , also known as the for sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League i ...

in the 2016 NPB All Star Game as back-up at first base. In the 2018 NPB season, Viciedo slashed .348/.419/.555 with 26 homers to claim the batting average and hits title leading to selection in the

Best 9. On December 12, 2018, it was announced Viciedo had signed a new 3-year deal with the Dragons with a total value of ¥1.1 billion ($9.9 million). On August 27, 2021, Viciedo reached 450 RBI in NPB, giving him the most RBI for a non-Japanese player in Chunichi Dragons history. On September 26, Viciedo collected his 765th hit for the Dragons, passing

Alonzo Powell Alonzo Sidney Powell (born December 12, 1964) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and current Coach (baseball), coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos and Seattle Mariners. He is currently the hi ...

for the most hits by a non-Japanese player in club history. On December 1, Viciedo agreed to a three-year contract extension with the Dragons. On September 24, 2023, Viciedo collected his 1,000th NPB hit with an infield single off of Hiroto Saiki of the

. He became the 317th player in NPB history to achieve the feat, as well as the only foreign player in Dragons history to do so. Viciedo played in 15 games for Chunichi in 2024, hitting .209/.261/.302 with one home run and two RBI. On October 6, 2024, it was announced that Viciedo would not be retained after 2024, making him a free agent.

Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos

On May 8, 2025, Viciedo signed with the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos of the

References

External links

NPB.jp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Viciedo, Dayan 1989 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Japan Birmingham Barons players Charlotte Knights players Chicago White Sox players Chunichi Dragons players Defecting Cuban baseball players Cuban emigrants to the United States Major League Baseball players from Cuba 21st-century Cuban sportsmen Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Major League Baseball third basemen Nashville Sounds players Naranjas de Villa Clara players Nippon Professional Baseball infielders People from Remedios, Cuba Baseball players from Villa Clara Province Peoria Javelinas players