Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Wilson Antonio Valdéz (born May 20, 1978 in Nizao, Peravia, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball shortstop for the New York Mets.
Valdez was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Montreal Expos on February 4, 1997. He played on the Expos Dominican League Teams from 1997-1999 and then on various minor league Single-A teams for the Expos through 2001.
On March 29, 2002, he was claimed off waivers by the Florida Marlins and sent to the Marlins Double-A team in Portland. He continued in the Marlins organization in 2003, playing with their Double-A team in Carolina and their Triple-A team in Albuquerque.
On June 17, 2004, while hitting .319 for Albuquerque, he was traded by the Marlins with cash to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for reliever Billy Koch. The White Sox promptly assigned him to their Triple-A afiliate in Charlotte where he hit .302 and earned his first major league call-up in September of 2004 to the White Sox. In limited action he hit .233 for the Sox.
After the season, he was waived by the White Sox and claimed by the Seattle Mariners. He started the 2005 season as the starting shortstop for the Mariners. However, he hit an anemic .198 and was traded to the San Diego Padres on June 9, 2005. After a stint with the Padres Triple-A team in Portland, he returned to the major leagues with the Padres, hitting .231 in August as a utility player.
After the 2005 season, he was released by the Padres and signed to a minor league contract by the Kansas City Royals who promptly traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers during spring training.
He spent the 2006 season with the Dodgers Triple-A team, the Las Vegas 51s, where he hit .297 and stole 26 bases.
A spring training injury to the Dodgers starting shortstop Rafael Furcal in 2007, created an opening day roster spot for Valdez and he got plenty of playing time early for the Dodgers; however, after a quick start he quickly cooled and was returned to the 51s. On January 3, 2008, Valdez's contract was sold to the Kia Tigers of the Korean Baseball Organization. On June 9, he signed with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.
In December 2008, Valdéz signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians. On May 26, 2009, he was traded to the New York Mets and was added to the major league roster.
Valdez was also featured in a skit done by Tom Green on MTV, where Green was the P.A. announcer for the Staten Island Yankees. Green would announce the names of the players during the bat and say, "let's send Valdez back to the bench."
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