Adalberto Ibarra

Adalberto Ibarra Reyes

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 200-220 lb.

• Born April 3, 1987

BR Minors page

Adalberto Ibarra starred for Cuba in the 2004 World Junior Championship, hitting .429/.500/.571 for the Gold Medal winners and taking All-Star honors at 3B. He was 8th in the event in average, just ahead of Justin Upton, and tied Jorge Padron for third in hits (9).

Ibarra hit .363/.464/.525 for Camagüey in 2007-2008, his 4th season in Cuba. He tied for 9th in the league in average and tied Héctor Olivera Jr. for fifth with 25 doubles. He played 1B, 2B and 3B, fielding .935 overall. Through that season, he had a career average of .324 and slugging percentage of .444.

Ibarra fell to .341/.470/.481 in 2008-2009 but improved his fielding to .976 while playing primarily second base. He defected from Cuba following that season.

In August 2010, Ibarra signed a minor league deal with the Boston Red Sox for a bonus in line with a late-sandwich pick in the draft, between $700,000 and $800,000. Ibarra had originally agreed to terms on a five-year major league deal with a guarantee of $3 million and incentives that could push the value of the deal to $4.3 million, but failed his physical due to a "minor" injury.

Sources

• Beisbolcubano.cu
• Baseballdecuba.com
• Radiorebelde
• WEEI.com
• Defunct IBAF site