Tony Abreu

Etanislao Toni Abreu

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 185 lb.

• Debut May 22, 2007
• Final Game July 28, 2014
• Born November 13, 1984 in Puerto Plata, Puerto Plata, D.R.

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Biographical Information

Tony Abreu played 224 games over parts of six big league seasons.

Abreu was signed by scout Pablo Peguero for the Dodgers as an undrafted free agent in October 2002. He made his pro debut the next year for the GCL Dodgers and hit .294/.358/.399 with 30 runs scored in 44 games. Baseball America rated him the 11th best prospect in the Gulf Coast League. He led league second basemen with 11 errors, though. He also appeared in 3 games for the Vero Beach Dodgers, going hitless in 10 at-bats. In 2004, Abreu batted .302/.327/.472 for the Columbus Catfish with 16 steals in 28 tries. One concern was his plate discipline, as he struck out 59 times while drawing only 8 walks in 104 games. In 11 games with the Vero Beach Dodgers, he hit .419/.435/.535. Baseball America rated him the best defensive second baseman in the South Atlantic League. He just missed the league's top 10 in average and Martin Prado beat him out for the SAL All-Star spot at second base.

Abreu kept on hitting in 2005, putting up a .327/.356/.452 line for Vero Beach with 15 walks and 56 punch outs in 394 at bats (96 games). He hit .327 against both left-handers and right-handers and had 7 triples, but also was just 14-for-24 in steal attempts. Tony also batted .250/.323/.284 in 24 games for the AA Jacksonville Suns. He won the Florida State League batting title by 14 points over Adam Lind and Chin-Lung Hu and led FSL second basemen in fielding percentage (.977), making the All-Star team alongside infield teammates Hu and Andy LaRoche. Baseball America rated him the 11th best prospect in the FSL, between Jordan Tata and Hu. They also named him the 9th best prospect in the rich Dodgers farm system. The young Dominican's production fell somewhat in 2006, as he produced at a .287/.343/.392 clip for Jacksonville. Though he led Southern League second basemen in errors (16), Baseball America again rated him the top defensive player in his position in his league. He finished 7th in the SL in average. Baseball America left him off of their list of the league's top 20 prospects, naming Eric Patterson the top second baseman prospect in the loop. They did move him up to 5th on the list of top Dodgers prospects.

Abreu began 2007 in AAA, hitting .347/.397/.503 for the Las Vegas 51s before being called up in late May when Hong-Chih Kuo was sent down. The move was questioned by many Dodgers fans, who did not see the need for a player they deemed to be another utility infielder. One of the 10 youngest players in the National League, Tony started at third base and hit 8th in his debut on May 22, getting the nod over LaRoche. His first at-bat came in the second, when he faced Ben Sheets and lined out to center fielder Bill Hall. Abreu went 0 for 3 overall in his MLB debut. In 59 big league games, Tony batted .271/.309/.404 with 2 homers and a career best 17 RBI. A groin injury suffered at the end of 2007 cost Tony the entirety of the 2008 campaign. He saw brief time with the Dodgers in 2009, then was flipped to the Arizona Diamondbacks before the 2010 season. Arizona played Tony in a personal best 81 games, but a meager .233/.244/.316 line and -1.3 bWAR saw any hope for him becoming a big league regular go up in smoke. He resurfaced for 78 games split across three seasons (2012 to 2014) with the Kansas City Royals and San Francisco Giants and retired in 2018 after a stint in the Atlantic League.

Sources: 2003-2007 Baseball Almanacs, several Dodgers fan sites, 2007 Dodgers Media Guide, MILB.com

Related Sites

• Tony Abreu on mlb.com