Marlins Acquire Infielders Jonathan Villar And Jesus Aguilar
MIAMI (AP) — Infielder Jonathan Villar was acquired Monday by the Miami Marlins from the Baltimore Orioles for minor league left-handed pitcher Easton Lucas.
The Marlins also claimed first baseman Jesus Aguilar off waivers after he was designated for assignment last week by the Tampa Bay Rays.
Villar batted .274 with 33 doubles, 24 home runs, and 73 RBI in 162 games for Baltimore this year. The switch-hitter had 40 stolen bases, 111 runs scored and 176 hits.
He made $4,825,000 and likely would have received a salary of about $10 million next year had he been eligible for arbitration.
Aguilar was an All-Star for Milwaukee in 2018, when he had 35 home runs and 108 RBIs. This year he had 12 homers and 50 RBIs for the Brewers and Rays.
Aguilar is expected to share time at first with Garrett Cooper, who had 15 homers and 50 RBIs for Miami this year.
Villar is a career .261 hitter. He had a career-best 62 stolen bases for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2016. He has played shortstop (385 games), second base (333), third base (54) and the outfield (13).
To make room on Miami's 40-man roster, infielder JT Riddle and right-handed pitcher Tayron Guerrero were designated for assignment. Riddle then was not offered a contract, making him a free agent.
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