Alejandro De Aza
Alejandro Alberto De Aza Ceda (born April 11, 1984) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Florida Marlins, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, and San Francisco Giants. Since beginning his professional career, De Aza has mostly split time between center field and left field.
Professional career
Minor leagues
De Aza was originally signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as a non-drafted free agent on May 1, 2001. The Florida Marlins selected him from the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft in 2004
In 2005, De Aza batted .286 with 34 stolen bases and 75 runs scored while playing for the Marlins Single-A Jupiter affiliate. In 2006, De Aza batted .278 with 12 doubles, two triples, two home runs, 16 RBI and 27 stolen bases at Double-A.
Florida Marlins
On March 28, 2007, De Aza was named the starting center fielder for the Marlins, beating out Reggie Abercrombie, Eric Reed, and Alex Sánchez in what was seen as a surprise. In 2007, he batted .303 (10-for-33) in nine games for the Marlins before going on the disabled list on April 16 with a right ankle sprain; an MRI in mid-May revealed that his ankle had a hairline fracture. The fractured ankle required surgery and De Aza was placed on the disabled list for the 2007 season. De Aza was called up by the Florida Marlins in May 2009.