Manuel Margot

Manuel Margot Gomez

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 5' 11", Weight 170 lb.

Debut September 21, 2016

Born September 28, 1994 in San Cristobal, San Cristobal D.R.

Biographical Information[edit]

Outfielder Manuel Margot was signed by Boston Red Sox scouts Manny Nanita and Craig Shipley as a 17-year-old before the 2012 season. He played his first season that year with the DSL Red Sox, hitting .285/.382/.423 in 68 games, scoring 49 runs and driving in 45. In 2013, he moved to the United States, playing for the Lowell Spinners where he hit .270 in 49 games. In 2014, he played 115 games, hitting .293/.356/.462 between the Greenville Drive of the South Atlantic League and the Salem Red Sox of the Carolina League, with 42 steals, 25 doubles and 12 homers.

He was back with Salem at the start of 2015, then after 46 games was promoted to the Portland Sea Dogs of the Eastern League. Altogether, he hit .276/.324/.419 in 110 games, scoring 73 runs and driving in 50. In the 2015 Futures Game, he started in center field for the World team and hit 8th. He struck out against Amir Garrett in the 3rd. Facing Mark Appel in the 5th, he lined out to SS J.P. Crawford. Socrates Brito replaced him in center.

On November 13, 2015, he was one of four prospects traded to the San Diego Padres, along with SS Javy Guerra, IF Carlos Asuaje and P Logan Allen, in return for closer Craig Kimbrel. Ironically, he made his major league debut for the Padres on September 21, 2016, the same day as Asuaje; a third Padres prospect, OF Hunter Renfroe also debuted in that game.

Margot hit his first two major league homers in the same game, on April 7, 2017 against the San Francisco Giants in a 7-6 win. He played 126 games that season, hitting .263 with 13 homers and 39 RBIs as the team's starting centerfielder. He was back in the job at the start of the 2018 season, but on April 9th, he was hit in the chest by a pitch from Colorado Rockies reliever Scott Oberg, landing him on the disabled list with a cracked rib. He was hitting just .159 after 11 games. He returned to play 141 games and hit .245 with 8 homers and 51 RBIs as the team's starting center fielder. He had a similar season in 2019 when he played 151 games, hitting .234 with 12 homers and 37 RBIs. He was solid on defence and stole 24 bases in 24 attempts, but it was clear he was not going to develop into the type of speedy lead-off hitter the Padres had envisioned when they had first acquired him, as his OPS+ in four seasons had never been higher that 91.

On February 8, 2020, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays along with prospect Logan Driscoll in return for P Emilio Pagan. He played with the Rays from 2020 to 2023, reaching the World Series that first year. He hit only one homer in 47 games during that shortened season, but was one of the stars of the postseason as he hit five long balls and drove in 11 runs over the first three rounds, then hit .316 in the Rays' loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. His biggest highlight came with the Glove, more specifically in Game 2 of the ALCS against the Houston Astros at Petco Park on October 12th (the series was played in a neutral site) when he made a tremendous tumbling catch to deprive George Springer of a double down the right field line in the 2nd inning. In 2021, he hit .254 in 125 games with 10 homers and 57 RBIs, the last three figures being his personal highs for his four-year stint in Tampa. He was held in check in the postseason, though, as he went 1 for 7 in a loss to the Boston Red Sox in the Division Series.

In 2022 and 2023, he played 89 and 99 games, hitting .274 and .264, with 4 homers both years. 2022 was the only season of his career in which he managed to cross the 100 OPS+ threshold, finishing at 104, his numbers being depressed by low walk counts. He appeared in the postseason both years, but did not do much as the Rays made quick exits both years - he was a combined 2 for 14 in 4 games. He played all three outfield positions over the four seasons in Tampa, with right field being the most common, although in 2023, following the departure of long-time team fixture Kevin Kiermaier, he actually appeared in more games in center field.

He was traded twice before the start of the 2024 season. On December 16, 2023, he joined P Tyler Glasnow in heading to the Los Angeles Dodgers in return for two youngsters, P Ryan Pepiot and OF Jonny DeLuca. The Dodgers had a busy off-season, though, including signing DH Shohei Ohtani and OF Teoscar Hernandez as free agents, so Margot became super-numerary. On February 26, 2024, he was traded again, this time to the Minnesota Twins along with minor league IF Rayne Doncon in return for another prospect, Noah Miller.

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