Ender Inciarte

Ender David Inciarte Montiel (born October 29, 1990) is a Venezuelan professional baseball center fielder who is a free agent.

He has played in Major League Baseball for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves and New York Mets.

Inciarte signed as an international free agent with the Diamondbacks on May 25, 2008, and began his career in Rookie Ball in 2008 with the Arizona League Diamondbacks.

During the 2012 season, he hit .307 with two home runs, 47 runs batted in, and 28 stolen bases while splitting time between the Class-A South Bend Silver Hawks and the Class-A Advanced Visalia Rawhide.

Following the 2012 season, Arizona decided to not protect Inciarte on their 40-man roster and he was subsequently selected by the Philadelphia Phillies with the 15th pick in the Rule 5 draft.

He competed for a spot with the Phillies as a backup outfielder during spring training, and ultimately made their 2013 Opening Day roster.

Following the first game of the season, Inciarte was designated for assignment without making an appearance to make room for the acquisition of Ezequiel Carrera on April 2.

He was offered back to the Diamondbacks and was assigned to the Mobile BayBears of the Class AA Southern League.

With Mobile, Inciarte had a .281 batting average, five home runs, 17 doubles, 25 runs batted in, and 43 stolen bases.

He appeared in the Southern League All-Star Game.

After the season, the Diamondbacks added Inciarte to their 40-man roster.

He made his MLB debut in 2014.

Inciarte began the 2014 season with the Reno Aces of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League.

He batted .312 with two home runs and seven stolen bases in 109 at-bats before being promoted to the major leagues.

He made his major league debut on May 2, 2014, and recorded a hit in his first major league game.

He hit his first major league home run on July 5 off of Aaron Harang of the Atlanta Braves.

He won the Fielding Bible Award in 2015, won the Gold Glove Award three times (2016–2018), and was an All-Star in 2017.

Inciarte batted .303 with 21 stolen bases for the Diamondbacks in 2015.

After the 2015 season, Inciarte won the Fielding Bible Award for players who played multiple positions.

On December 9, 2015, the Diamondbacks traded Inciarte, Dansby Swanson, and Aaron Blair to the Braves for Shelby Miller, and Gabe Speier.

Inciarte started for the Braves as their center fielder and leadoff hitter on Opening Day.

The Braves placed Inciarte on the disabled list on April 11.

He was reactivated on May 6.

The time he missed negatively impacted Inciarte's offensive production, as he recorded a .227 batting average in the first half of the season.

After the All-Star break, Inciarte's hitting improved.

He finished the year with a .291 batting average, coupled with three career-best marks, a .351 on-base percentage, a .381 slugging percentage, 85 runs scored, and seven triples.

In 131 games, Inciarte also stole 16 bases.

Though he finished behind Billy Hamilton in defensive Wins Above Replacement (as tabulated by Fangraphs), Ultimate Zone Rating, and Defensive Runs Saved, Inciarte won the 2016 National League Gold Glove for center fielders due to his superior arm strength and accuracy.

On December 23, 2016, the Atlanta Braves announced that Inciarte had been signed to a five-year extension worth approximately $30 million.

On April 14, 2017, Inciarte recorded the first defensive out, first hit, and first home run at the Braves' new venue, SunTrust Park.

The Braves won 5–2 over the San Diego Padres.

On May 22, 2017, Inciarte recorded his first career five-hit game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 5–2 Braves victory.

Weeks later, on June 4, 2017, Inciarte recorded his second five-hit performance, as well as his first 5-RBI game in a 13–8 win against the Cincinnati Reds.

He was the only Brave selected to the 2017 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Inciarte hit two home runs and stole two bases against the Colorado Rockies on August 17, 2017, becoming only the 17th player—and third Brave—to have a multi-homer, multi-steal game since 1901.

He recorded his first 200-hit season on September 26, with a double in the first inning against the New York Mets.

At the end of the year, Inciarte won the National League Rawlings Gold Glove Award for center fielders for the second time in his career.

In 2018, Inciarte's defense in center field continued to impress en route to his third consecutive Gold Glove award.

He hit .265/.325/.380 with ten home runs, 61 RBIs, and 28 stolen bases.

In 2019, injuries to his torso and hamstring limited Inciarte to 65 games.