Iago Januário

Iago Henrique Novaes Januario middle name also given as Enrique

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 6", Weight 205-240 lb.

• Born January 20, 1993 in Marília, São Paulo Brazil

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Iago Januario has played in the minors and for the Brazilian national team. His brother Igor Januario turned pro in 2018.

Januario was originally signed by Boston Red Sox scout Fernando Tamayo. He pitched for the DSL Red Sox in 2010 (1-1, 2 Sv, 6.30, 8 BB in 10 IP) and 2011 (1-2, 8.10, 8 BB in 3 1/3 IP). Let go by Boston, he was signed by the Tampa Bay Rays and converted to first base. He hit .232/.332/.470 with 11 home runs, 32 runs and 31 RBI in 52 games; with a big strike zone, he fanned often, 73 times in 185 AB. He led the Venezuelan Summer League in dingers, was 8th in slugging and was second in strikeouts.

Januario was on the Brazilian team that surprisingly won one of the 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers. He got into just one game, their 1-0 win over host Panama in the finale. He came to bat in the bottom of the 6th with a 1-0 lead, two on and one out, pinch-hitting for veteran Tiago Magalhães. Facing Ramiro Mendoza, he grounded into a double play. He did not stay in the game, as Mike Magario took over for Magalhães in right field. Januario was back with Brazil for the 2013 World Baseball Classic. He went 0 for 2 in the Classic, twice pinch-hitting for Diego França. He flew out against Kazuhisa Makita in a loss to Samurai Japan and struck out against Raciel Iglesias in a loss to Cuba.

He hit .241/.333/.386 for the 2013 VSL Rays to end his career in the minors. He was back in a Brazilian uniform for the 2016 South American Championship. In the round-robin phase, he led in home runs (the only player to hit two, both against Bolivia), RBI (9, tied with Gustavo Roque), average (.500, tied with James Sommerville, Lucas Montalbetti and Felipe Burin) and slugging (1.071, .204 ahead of Roque). He was second in OBP (.611, .039 behind Burin) and tied for 5th in hits (7). He finished at .500/.615/.950 with 11 RBI in 7 games for the Gold Medal winners; not only did he not win MVP, though (that went to Burin), he was not even the All-Star 1B (that went to Alan Fanhoni, with Januario used mostly at DH, where no All-Star was picked).

Sources

• 2013 Rays Media Guide
• World Baseball Classic
• 2016 South American Championship Final Report