sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Tyler Wesley Naquin (/ˈnɒkæn/ NOK-an;[1][2] born April 24, 1991) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds. Prior to playing professionally, Naquin played college baseball for the Texas A&M Aggies.

Tyler Naquin
Naquin with the New York Mets in 2022
New York Mets – No. 25
Outfielder
Born: (1991-04-24) April 24, 1991 (age 31) Spring, Texas
Bats: Left Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 5, 2016, for the Cleveland Indians
MLB statistics (through 2022 season)
Batting average	.264
Home runs	61
Runs batted in	237
Teams
Cleveland Indians (2016–2020) Cincinnati Reds (2021–2022) New York Mets (2022–present)

Early life

Naquin attended Klein Collins High School in unincorporated Harris County, Texas,[3] where he played for the school's baseball team. He lettered in baseball for three years. He was twice honored as All-State, three times honored as All-District, and three times named All-Greater Houston.[4] Naquin grew up a Houston Astros fan.[5]

Amateur career

The Baltimore Orioles selected Naquin in the 33rd round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft. After considering signing with the Orioles, Naquin decided to enroll at Texas A&M University, to play college baseball for the Texas A&M Aggies baseball team.[6][7] Naquin was named the Big 12 Conference Baseball Player of the Year in 2011.[8]

Professional career

Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians selected Naquin in the first round, with the 15th overall selection, of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft.[9] He signed and made his professional debut that season with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers of the Rookie-level New York-Penn League, batting .270 in 36 games.

Naquin played for the Carolina Mudcats of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League and the Akron Aeros of the Class AA Eastern League in 2013, hitting a combined .269 with ten home runs, 48 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases in 126 total games between both teams. After the 2013 season, the Indians assigned Naquin to the Arizona Fall League, and he participated in the Fall Stars Game.[10] Naquin began the 2014 season with Akron, but suffered a broken hand in July.[11] He required surgery, and missed the remainder of the 2014 season. In 76 games for Akron before his injury, he was batting .313 with four home runs and 30 RBIs. Naquin began the 2015 season with Akron.[12] In June, the Indians promoted him to the Columbus Clippers of the Class AAA International League.[13] However, a concussion and soreness in his right hip limited him to 50 games played with Columbus.[14] In 84 games between Akron and Columbus, he slashed .300/.381/.446 with seven home runs and 27 RBIs. After the 2015 season, the Indians added Naquin to their 40-man roster.[15]

After the 2015 season, Naquin remained at the Indians' facility in Arizona to engage in strength training.[14] He competed for a spot on the Indians' 25-man roster during spring training in 2016,[16] and was named to the Opening Day roster.[17] Naquin was named the American League Rookie of the Month for June and July 2016.[18][19] On August 19, Naquin hit a walk-off inside-the-park home run to lead the Indians to a 3-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. He became the first Indians batter to hit a walk off inside-the-park home run since Braggo Roth, who accomplished the feat in 1916.[20] In 116 games, he hit .296 with 14 home runs, 43 RBIs and 18 doubles.

Naquin began 2017 with Cleveland. However, he was hampered with injuries and struggled with the Indians, and he only appeared in 19 games for Cleveland in which he hit .216. He spent the majority of the year with Columbus, where he slashed .298/.359/.475 with ten home runs and 51 RBIs in 80 games.[21]

Overall with the 2020 Cleveland Indians, Naquin batted .218 with four home runs and 20 RBIs in 40 games.[22] Naquin was not tendered a contract for the 2021 season by the December 2, 2020, deadline, making him a free agent.[23]

Cincinnati Reds

On February 18, 2021, Naquin signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds organization that included an invitation to spring training.[24] On March 29, 2021, Naquin was selected to the 40-man roster.[25]

Naquin appeared in 127 games with Cincinnati in 2021, finishing with a .270 batting average, 19 home runs, and 70 RBIs.[26]

New York Mets

On July 28, 2022, the Reds traded Naquin and Phil Diehl to the New York Mets for minor league prospects Jose Acuña and Hector Rodríguez.[27]

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
• Tyler Wesley Naquin on Twitter

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