Ronald Torreyes

Ronald Alcides Torreyes (born September 2, 1992) is a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder who is currently a free agent.

He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, and Minnesota Twins.

Torreyes began playing baseball at a young age in Barinas, Venezuela, after watching his father play.

Torreyes was born on September 2, 1992, in Barinas, Barinas, Venezuela.

His father Alcides, a construction worker, would play third base and center field for an amateur baseball team in Venezuela, and Torreyes learned the game by watching his father play.

He began playing baseball at the age of four, for the Compoticas or Semellitas ("Little Seeds") league, and began representing the Venezuela national baseball team in international competitions from the age of seven.

Torreyes spent seven years on the Venezuelan national team, and by adolescence, he hoped to break into professional baseball.

To prepare, he would do conditioning drills with his father and watch videos of Omar Vizquel, a famous Venezuelan shortstop.

He was ignored by several MLB teams on account of his small frame, but signed with the Cincinnati Reds in 2010.

Although many Major League Baseball (MLB) teams passed over Torreyes due to his small frame, the Cincinnati Reds signed him as an international free agent in February 2010.

He began playing for the Reds' Venezuelan Summer League (VSL) affiliate, where he won the league batting title with a .390 average.

Torreyes also led the VSL with a .606 slugging percentage, 34 extra-base hits, 56 runs scored, 10 triples, 94 hits, and 146 total bases.

After the VSL season ended, he was promoted to the Arizona League Reds, with whom he hit .349.

Torreyes joined the Class A Dayton Dragons at the end of the 2010 Minor League Baseball season, and continued to play with them in 2011.

He served as the team's starting second baseman, as well as the second batter in the order, behind Billy Hamilton.

Torreyes and Hamilton, both known for their speed on the bases, combined to provide a strong offensive start to the Dragons throughout the 2011 Midwest League season.

In 67 games that year, Torreyes batted .356, with 41 runs batted in (RBIs) and 12 stolen bases.

On December 23, 2011, the Reds traded Torreyes, Travis Wood, and Dave Sappelt to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for left-handed relief pitcher Sean Marshall.

He spent the 2012 season with the Class A-Advanced Daytona Cubs, batting .264 in 115 games and 474 plate appearances, with six home runs, 47 RBIs, and 62 runs scored.

The following season, he was promoted to the Double-A Tennessee Smokies.

On April 25, 2013, Torreyes fell one home run short of hitting for the cycle in a 2–1 victory over the Pensacola Blue Wahoos.

in addition to scoring a single, double, and triple in the game, Torreyes drew a walk and scored a run, going 3-for-3.

Torreyes batted .260 for the Smokies in 223 at bats, with 13 doubles, four triples, two home runs, and 25 RBIs.

On July 3, 2013, the Cubs traded Torreyes to the Houston Astros in exchange for two international signing bonus slots, one of which was used to acquire third-ranked international prospect Gleyber Torres in the international signing period.

He spent the remainder of the season with the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks, batting .278 in 28 games, with 12 RBIs and 19 runs in 162 plate appearances.

Torreyes was promoted to the Triple-A Oklahoma City RedHawks for the 2014 season, where he established himself as a strong bat for the Pacific Coast League.

By August 23, 2014, Torreyes had the second-lowest strikeout rate in the minor leagues, averaging one strikeout for every 20.9 plate appearances, and at one point boasting a streak of 90 plate appearances without striking out.

By that same point in the season, he had compiled 34 multi-hit games, including 12 games of three hits or more.

Torreyes batted .298 for the year, with two home runs, 46 RBIs, and 65 runs in 126 games for Oklahoma City, and 26 strikeouts in 519 plate appearances.

Torreyes played for several minor league affiliates of the Reds, Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, and Toronto Blue Jays before he was traded to the Dodgers in 2015.

Torreyes made his MLB debut for the Dodgers that September, filling in for an injured Jose Peraza.

Torreyes opened the 2015 season with the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies, putting up five RBIs and seven runs in 19 games.

On May 15, 2015, the Astros traded Torreyes to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for cash or a player to be named later.

The Blue Jays assigned him to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, where he batted .140 in 16 games.

He underwent another series of transactions at the start of 2016 before settling with the Yankees as a backup infielder.

Torreyes was used sparingly until 2017, when a shoulder injury to Didi Gregorius saw him start at shortstop for the first month of the season.

When Greg Bird returned to the lineup in 2018, however, Torreyes lost his place on the Yankees roster.

After playing one minor-league season with the Twins, Torreyes signed with the Phillies for a 2020 season that was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic continued to affect Torreyes in 2021, as he tested positive for the virus and had to miss a month of the season.

Upon his return, he found a steady role with the club as a utility player on a roster that had been depleted by injury and illness.