Jonathan Araúz

Jonathan Aldair Araúz Morales

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 195 lb.

• Debut July 24, 2020

• Born August 3, 1998 in Alanje, Chiriqui Panama

BR page

Biographical Information

Infielder Jonathan Araúz was barely 17 years old when he was involved in a significant major league trade. On December 12, 2015, he joined major league reliever Ken Giles in heading from the Philadelphia Phillies to the Houston Astros in return for five pitchers. Two of them, Brett Oberholtzer and Vince Velasquez had major league experience; one, Mark Appel, was a former Number 1 pick in the amateur draft; and the other two, Harold Arauz and Thomas Eshelman were longer shots. Harold Arauz was a fellow Panamanian, although no relation, but as the next youngest player in the deal, he was still three years older than Jonathan.

Jonathan signed his first professional contract with the Phillies shortly after turning 16 and received a sizable $600,000 signing bonus. The signing scout was Norman Anciani. He began his professional career in 2015 directly in the U.S., with the GCL Phillies, where he played every day, splitting time almost equally between shortstop and second base. In 44 games, he hit .254/.309/.370 with 10 doubles and a pair of homers. Even in a circuit dominated by players just out of high school, he stood out by being three and a half years younger than average, but he still managed to hold his own, giving him tremendous upside potential. That was why the Astros focused on him in their trade with the Phils after the season.

He hit .249/.323/.338 for the 2016 Greeneville Astros then split 2017 between the Tri-City ValleyCats (.265/.341/.364 in 33 G) and Quad Cities River Bandits (.221/.331/.276 in 36 G). In '18, he was with the River Bandits (.299/.392/.471 in 54 G) and Buies Creek Astros (.167/.223/.288 in 71 G). He fielded .979 at short between the two stops. He legged out nine triples to tie Osvaldo Duarte for the most by an Astros farmhand. He split 2019 between the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (.252/.322/.388 in 87 G) and Corpus Christi Hooks (.241/.311/.389 in 28 G), homering 11 times on the season.

Araúz was grabbed from the Astros by the Boston Red Sox in the 2019 Rule V Draft. He made the team's opening day roster in 2020 and saw action in their first game of the season, delayed until July 24th, by the coronavirus pandemic. He played 2 innings at third base in a beatdown of the Baltimore Orioles and made an out in his only at-bat by flying out against David Hess. His first MLB hit was off the Tampa Bay Rays' Ryan Yarbrough, part of a three-hit day. He batted .250/.325/.319 in 80 plate appearances over 25 games, primarily backing up José Peraza at 2B. His last at-bat of the year produced his first homer, off the Atlanta Braves' Josh Tomlin.

Following the season, he appeared for the Federales de Chiriquí in the 2021 Caribbean Series. He hit .269/.296/.308 with 4 runs and 4 RBI in 6 games, tying for fifth in runs and tying for eighth in RBI. He was named the All-Star shortstop, joining Ronald Guzmán, Robinson Canó and Jordan Díaz as the All-Star infielders. He was the only player from Panama's squad to make the All-Star team. He batted .185/.274/.369 in 28 games for Boston in 2021 and .245/.326/.365 in 68 games for the Worcester Red Sox.

He was 0 for 10 with a run and a RBI for the Red Sox in 2022 and hit .185/.242/.239 in 24 games for Worcester, before being waived. Still only 23 years old, he was claimed by the Baltimore Orioles. He hit .179/.207/.286 in 9 games for the Orioles and was 1 for 10 with a walk for the Aberdeen Ironbirds while batting .250/.333/.325 in 11 games for the Norfolk Tides. He was the starting second baseman for the Panamanian national team in the 2022 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers. Hitting third in their opener against Argentina, he did not get an at-bat as he walked twice (by Juan Elorza and Thomas Cuenca), was hit twice (by Guido Monis) and scored twice. Their other game, versus Brazil, he was 1 for 2 with two walks, two steals and a run - he got the winner in the 4th when he singled off André Rienzo and scored on a José Ramos homer. Panama clinched a spot in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, their first World Baseball Classic in 14 years. He tied Leonardo Reginatto, Eduardo Zurbriggen and Justin Wylie for fourth in the event in walks; everyone with as many or more walks played more games. Only Matěj Menšík was plunked more times and only Anfernee Seymour stole more bases. His .875 OBP led the way, .125 ahead of Ivan Acuña.

The New York Mets took him in the minor league portion of the 2022 Rule V Draft, a sign that MLB teams still had interest. The fact that he went in the third round of the minor league draft showed how far his stock had fallen since going in the 2019 Rule V Draft's main round.

Related Sites

• Jonathan Araúz on mlb.com
• BR Minors page