Carlos Benítez

Carlos Benítez Pérez

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 201 lb.

• Born November 1, 1987 in Yara, Granma Cuba

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Carlos Benítez has been an infielder in Cuba.

He debuted with Granma in 2005-2006, hitting .262/.377/.388 as a backup 2B. In 2006-2007, the teenager became a starter, producing at a .245/.378/.372 clip and fielding .961. He put up similar numbers on offense (.246/.384/.369) in 2007-2008 while fielding .977. In 2008-2009, he became a backup to Ramón Tamayo and hit .202/.325/.414 in 49 games, fielding .989.

Benítez was primarily a DH in 2009-2010 and hit .297/.385/.516 with six homers in 104 plate appearances, doing well in limited action. He was Granma's starting DH in 2010-2011, batting .340/.433/.545 with 15 home runs. He faded to .264/.372/.436 in 2011-2012. Starting at third base in 2012-2013, he rebounded to bat .303/.416/.542 while fielding .946 (BR register gives different stats; these are from the official Cuban stats at INDER). He was 7th in slugging, between Yosvany Peraza and Dayron Varona. In 2013-2014, he took over at second for Tamayo and hit .322/.449/.470 while fielding .969. He slumped to .243/.382/.311 in 2014-2015, fielding .969.

The Yara native hit .273/.365/.404 and fielded .972 in 2015-2016. He was named Cuba's All-Star second baseman. He was better yet in 2016-2017, producing at a .312/.414/.486 clip with 19 doubles and 54 RBI in 83 games. He tied Yusniel Ibáñez for 7th in the league in doubles, tied Michael González and Edilse Silva for 6th in RBI, led with 19 double play grounders and tied Luis Robert for fourth in hit-by-pitch (18). In the finals, he came up big with a two-run game-tying single in the 8th inning of game 1 and a two-run single in game 2, as Granma won its first title. In the 2017 Caribbean Series, he hit .438/.444/.688 and socked a three-run homer vs. Wilfredo Boscan. He tied David Vidal and Jose Castillo for the Series lead in RBI and he was named the All-Star second baseman.

He then debuted for the Cuban national team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Starting at second for Cuba, he was 1 for 11 with a run. His lone hit came off Xia Luo and he came around on a double by Yoelquis Céspedes for their first run in a win over China.