The 29-year-old Dominican professional baseball player will be joining his fifth team in four seasons, agreeing to a one-year deal with the New York Mets, according to ESPN.
Villar’s deal is for $3.55 million, according to multiple reports. His agreement with the Mets was first reported by MLB Network.
Villar, a switch-hitter, had a .232 batting average with 15 RBIs and 16 stolen bases in 52 games between the Miami Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He has shown his versatility in the field, playing second base, shortstop, third base and outfield during his career.
He adds infield depth behind new shortstop Francisco Lindorand second baseman Jeff McNeil.
Entering his ninth MLB season, Villar has also played for the Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Brewers and Houston Astros since 2013.
He has a career .259 batting average with 80 home runs, 283 RBIs and 218 stolen bases.
Jonathan Villar is headed to the Great White North…
The Miami Marlins have traded the 29-year-old Dominican professional baseball outfielder to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Villar is hitting .272 with two home runs and nine RBIs. He also is tied for the National League lead with nine stolen bases.
Last season he hit a career-high 24 home runs while with the Baltimore Orioles.
Villar is scheduled to be a free agent in the offseason.
The Blue Jays (18-14) entered Monday’s games in third place in the AL East standings.
In addition to the Marlins and Orioles, Villar previously played in the MLB for the Houston Astros and Milwaukee Brewers. Prior to 2017, Villar was primarily a shortstop.
The 31-year-old Dominican professional baseball player has been traded from the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Miami Marlins, according to ESPN.
In exchange for Marte, an MLB All-Star in 2016, the Marlins will send Caleb Smith, Humberto Mejia and a player to be named later to the Diamondbacks, according to sources.
Meanwhile, the Marlins sent outfielder Jonathan Villarto the Toronto Blue Jays, reports ESPN.
Marte is hitting .311 with 23 runs scored this season. He has a $12.5 million option on his contract for next year.
It has been a tumultuous and difficult year for Marte. His wife, Noelia, died of a heart attack in May.
That followed his trade from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Diamondbacks in January, after he had spent his entire eight-year career with the Pirates.
Marte has a career .288 batting average with 110 homers, 434 RBIs and 244 steals. He had career highs last season with 23 homers and 82 RBIs.
Marte won Gold Gloves in 2015 and ’16.
He reached the All-Star Game in 2016 but also served an 80-game suspension in 2017 after testing positive for steroids.
The Miami Marlins have acquired the 28-year-old Dominican professional baseball player from the Baltimore Orioles for minor league left-handed pitcher Easton Lucas.
Villar, an infielder, was reportedly placed on waivers last week as the team sought a trade partner.
The Marlins also claimed first baseman Jesus Aguilaroff waivers after he was designated for assignment last week by the Tampa Bay Rays.
A switch-hitter, Villar turned in a career year for Baltimore last season, hitting .274 with career highs in hits (176), home runs (24) and RBIs (73) in 162 games. He ranked third in stolen bases in the American League, with 40.
“He was a tremendously exciting player for us, a joy to have,” general manager Mike Elias said Monday. “It was hard to let him go, but we’ve got to keep an eye on our strategic objectives, which is prioritize the future right now.”
Villar was too expensive to keep around. He’s eligible for arbitration and likely to earn about $10 million next year, so Elias opted to trade the 28-year-old as part of a more substantial teardown.
“It makes a lot of sense, and it’s something you have to do,” Elias said.
The GM described Villar as “a guy who’s going into his last year of arbitration with the team and facing free agency who is set to command a large salary with his play this year and years past” — qualities that don’t fit with the master plan for rebuilding the team.
“We’re going to miss him, but this is the right move,” Elias said.
Baltimore finished last in the AL East in 2019, the first season with Elias at the helm. From the outset, Elias made it clear that the roster will be overhauled before being injected with young talent.
The Orioles also reached a one-year agreement with lefty Richard Bleier and offered 2020 contracts to first baseman Trey Mancini, infielder Hanser Alberto and right-handers Dylan Bundy, Miguel Castro and Mychal Givens.
“These are guys that had good years and continue to grow and are deserving of the opportunity to keep going forward,” Elias said.
Aguilar was an All-Star for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2018, when he had 35 home runs and 108 RBIs. This season, he had 12 homers and 50 RBIs for the Milwaukee and Rays.
Aguilar, 29, is expected to share time at first with Garrett Cooper, who had 15 homers and 50 RBIs for Miami this season.
Aguilar has a .256 average, with 63 homers and 215 RBIs in six seasons with the Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee and Tampa Bay.
To make room on Miami’s 40-man roster, infielder JT Riddle and right-handed pitcher Tayron Guerrero were designated for assignment. Riddle then was not offered a contract, making him a free agent.
The 28-year-old Dominican professional baseball player, a second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles, has became the fifth Orioles player to hit for the cycle (the accomplishment of one batter hitting a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game)and first since Felix Pie on August 14, 2009.
Villar accomplished the feat during the Orioles 9-6 loss to the New York Yankees at Camden Yards.
Villar tripled in the third inning, doubled in the fifth, homered in the sixth and dumped a single into right field off Aroldis Chapmanin the ninth. Although it looked like Villar had no interest in heading to second base on the poke near the line, he later said he had no idea that the single completed the cycle.
“I wasn’t paying attention to that,” he said. “When I hit a base hit right there, the coach at first, he said, ‘Congratulations, you hit for the cycle.’ Right there, I knew I hit for the cycle.”
Villar joins Brooks Robinson(July 15, 1960), Cal Ripken(May 6, 1984), Aubrey Huff(June 29, 2007) and Pie (August 14, 2009) as the only players to hit for the cycle in club history.
The others to do so in the Majors this season are Jorge Polanco, Shohei Ohtani, Jake Bauersand Trea Turner.
