Andy Ibáñez
Andy Ibáñez Velázquez is a Cuban professional baseball infielder in the Texas Rangers organization.Career
Ibáñez played for the Cuba national baseball team at the 2013 World Baseball Classic. He played for Isla de la Juventud in the Cuban National Series. He defected from Cuba on November 1, 2014, to pursue a career in Major League Baseball. He signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers on July 7, 2015.
Ibáñez made his professional debut in 2016, spending time with both the Hickory Crawdads and Frisco RoughRiders, batting a combined.285 with 13 home runs, 66 RBIs, 15 stolen bases and an.804 OPS in 130 total games between the two clubs. In 2017, he returned to Frisco and spent the whole season there, slashing.265/.323/400 with eight home runs and 29 RBIs in 82 games. He missed six weeks of the season due to a finger injury. Ibáñez spent the 2018 season with the Round Rock Express of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. He posted a batting line of.283/.344/.410/.754 with 12 home runs and 55 RBI in 125 games. Ibáñez played for the Aguilas Cibaenas of the Dominican Winter League in the 2018 offseason.
Ibáñez received a non-roster invitation to 2019 major league spring training. In 2019, Ibáñez suffered a strained right oblique during spring training, and returned on April 6, when he was assigned to the Nashville Sounds. He spent the 2019 season with Nashville, hitting.300/.371/.497/.868 with 20 home runs and 65 RBI.
