Jonathan Villar, Shortstop

Date of Birth: 5/2/1991
Birthplace: La Vega, Dominican Republic

Jonathan Villar, shortstop, originally signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. After three years in the minor leagues, he was traded to the Houston Astros in 2011. Villar continued to play in the minor leagues through most of 2013. He had a .260 batting average in the minors.

Villar joined the Astros for 87 games in 2014. He finished the season with 55 hits, 13 doubles, 17 stolen bases, 80 strikeouts to 19 walks, and a .209 batting average. As a shortstop, he made 229 assists, 45 double plays, 104 putouts, and 18 errors in 82 games.

Villar played in 53 games with the Astros in 2015. He batted .284 with 33 hits. Defensively, he played 3 games at second base, 12 games at third base, 22 games at shortstop, 5 games in left field, and 2 games in center field. On July 30th, he stole home against the Baltimore Orioles.

On November 19, 2015, Villar was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers. He had his first full season in the majors in 2016, playing in 156 games with the Brewers. He finished the season with 168 hits, 38 doubles, 19 home runs, 63 RBIs, and a .285 batting average. He led all of major league baseball in stolen bases with 62. Defensively, as the Brewers' shortstop in 108 games, he made 321 assists, 67 double plays, 152 putouts, and 17 errors. He also played 11 games at second base and 42 games at third base.

Villar batted .241 in 122 games with the Brewers in 2017. He finished the season with 97 hits, 18 doubles, 23 stolen bases, 40 RBIs, and 132 strikeouts to 30 walks. Defensively, as the Brewers' second baseman in 98 games, he made 237 assists, 56 double plays, 155 putouts, and 15 errors.

The Brewers traded Villar to the Baltimore Orioles on July 31, 2018. He finished the 2018 season with 121 hits, 14 doubles, 14 home runs, 35 stolen bases, 138 strikeouts to 41 walks, and a .260 batting average in 87 games with the Brewers and 54 games with the Orioles. Defensively, as a second baseman in 110 games, he made 217 assists, 46 double plays, 151 putouts, and 8 errors.

Villar finished the 2019 season with 176 hits, 33 doubles, 24 home runs, 40 stolen bases, 73 RBIs, 176 strikeouts to 61 walks, and a .274 batting average in 162 games. Defensively, he played 111 games at second base and 97 games at shortstop and he made 420 assists, 104 double plays, 206 putouts, and 20 errors.

Villar was traded to the Miami Marlins on December 2, 2019. The Marlins traded him to the Toronto Blue Jays on August 31, 2020. He finished the 2020 season with 43 hits, 5 doubles, 2 home runs, 15 RBIs, 16 stolen bases, 54 strikeouts to 19 walks, and a .232 batting average in 30 games with the Marlins and 22 games with the Blue Jays. Defensively, he played 25 games at second base and 21 games at shortstop. In the postseason, he had no hits in 2 at-bats in 1 game.

Villar became a free agent on October 28, 2020. He signed with the New York Mets on February 11, 2021. He finished the 2021 season with 113 hits, 18 doubles, 18 home runs, 14 stolen bases, 42 RBIs, 132 strikeouts to 46 walks, and a .249 batting average in 142 games. Defensively, he played 97 games at third base, 26 games at shortstop, and 9 games at second base.

Villar elected free agency on November 3, 2021. He signed with the Chicago Cubs on March 19, 2022. He was released on June 28, 2022. He signed with the Los Angeles Angels on July 2nd. Less than a month later, on July 29th, he became a free agent again. He signed a minor league contract with the Mariners on August 1st.

Villar became a free agent on November 10, 2022.

Career batting statistics for Villar through 2021 include:

• 973 games played
• 857 hits
• 155 doubles
• 98 home runs
• 232 stolen bases
• 325 RBIs
• 986 strikeouts to 329 walks
• .258 batting average

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Jonathan Villar
ESPN - Jonathan Villar