YAMAICO NAVARRO | SHORTSTOP |
 | Born: October 31, 1987 Height: 5’11″ Weight: 170 Bats: Right Throws: Right Signed: International Free Agent, 2005 (Red Sox) How Acquired: Trade (for Brooks Pounders and Diego Goris) Country: Dominican Republic Agent: N/A |
WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILE |
| Navarro is talented enough that Baseball America rated him either 10th or 12th in a good Red Sox system for three years, prior to each of the 2009 through 2011 seasons. He has outstanding bat speed, giving him unusual power for a middle infielder. He has average speed and probably can’t play shortstop in the majors except as a reserve, but he has a good arm and good enough hands and athleticism to handle second or third. His maturity, however, has drawn questions. He hasn’t always been in shape and doesn’t always run hard. He can get out of control both at the plate and in the field, which shows in the wild variations in his plate discipline from year to year. The Red Sox traded him to the Royals in a deadline deal in 2011, then the Royals sent him on to the Pirates in December. The Royals at the time were trying to clear a roster spot for the Rule 5 draft. The result may have been a steal for the Pirates, but it’s also possible the Royals concluded that Navarro’s attitude would keep him from succeeding. 2006 Hit respectably with good power and plate discipline in the DSL. 2007 The Red Sox skipped Navarro over rookie ball and he hit well in the NYPL, playing against a lot of college players at age 19. He played primarily shortstop, with a little time at third. 2008 Navarro continued to hit well in full season ball, but his plate discipline continued to slide. He put up big numbers in the hitting-happy California League after a late-season promotion to high A. He continued to play short, but spent a little time at second and third. 2009 Suffered a broken hamate bone on the first day of the season. The injury obviously affected Navarro’s hitting when he returned. 2010 Navarro bounced back with a good season in AA, including dramatically improved walk and K rates. The Red Sox called him up in late August when Dustin Pedroia got hurt and he remained with them through the end of the season. 2011 Navarro missed time with a back spring, but otherwise continued to hit about the same as before in AAA, with a decent average and good power for a middle infielder. His plate discipline dropped off but was still passable. He saw a little major league time with both the Royals and Red Sox. Navarro can play all the infield positions and has also played a little in the outfield. He has two options left, so he also provides the Pirates with some flexibility. He had a good spring training and ended up making the team, along with Josh Harrison and Matt Hague, when the Pirates decided to go with eleven pitchers at the beginning of the season. Once they have a need for a fifth starter, one of the three will get sent to AAA. |
STATS |
| Baseball Reference–Majors Baseball Reference–Minors Fangraphs MLB.com MiLB.com |
CONTRACT INFORMATION |
| 2012: League Minimum |
PLAYER INFORMATION |
| Signing Bonus: $20,000 MiLB Debut: 2006 MLB Debut: 8/20/2010 MiLB FA Eligible: N/A MLB FA Eligible: 2017 Rule 5 Eligible: N/A Added to 40-Man: August 20, 2010 Options Remaining: 2 (USED: 2011) MLB Service Time: 0.108 |
TRANSACTIONS |
| September 3, 2005: Signed as an international free agent by the Boston Red Sox. August 20, 2010: Contract purchased by the Boston Red Sox. July 30, 2011: Traded by the Boston Red Sox with Kendal Volz to the Kansas City Royals for Mike Aviles. December 7, 2011: Traded by the Kansas City Royals to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Brooks Pounders and Diego Goris. |
