Socrates Brito

Socrates Brito
Brito with the Arizona Diamondbacks
Free agent
Outfielder
Born: (1992-09-06) September 6, 1992 (age 32)
Azua, Dominican Republic
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Professional debut
MLB: September 8, 2015, for the Arizona Diamondbacks
KBO: April 2, 2022, for the Kia Tigers
MLB statistics
(through 2019 season)
Batting average.179
Home runs5
Runs batted in18
KBO statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.302
Home runs63
Runs batted in270
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards
KBO

Socrates Orel Brito (born September 6, 1992) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Toronto Blue Jays, as well as the KBO League for the Kia Tigers.

Career

Arizona Diamondbacks

Brito batting for the South Bend Silver Hawks in 2013

Brito was signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2010 out of the Dominican Republic.[1] He was added to their 40-man roster on November 20, 2014, after he batted .293 with 38 stolen bases for the Visalia Rawhide of the High–A California League.[2] Brito began the 2015 season with the Mobile BayBears of the Double–A Southern League.[3] Brito was chosen to represent the Diamondbacks at the 2015 All-Star Futures Game.[4] He made his MLB debut on September 8, 2015. Brito was named the Diamondbacks' Minor League Player of the Year for 2015.[5]

Brito competed with Yasmany Tomas for playing time in 2016,[6] but broke a big toe in June 2016.[7] He injured his hamate bone while playing in winter baseball after the season, and had surgery to repair a dislocated finger on his right hand in the spring in 2017. He again injured a finger during winter baseball after the 2017 season.[8] In 2018, in 40 at bats he hit .196/.358/.554 with two stolen bases.[9] He had the fastest baserunning sprint speed of all major league right fielders, at 29.9 feet/second.[10] Playing for the Reno Aces of the Triple–A Pacific Coast League, he was selected for the Triple-A All-Star Game.[11]

Toronto Blue Jays

The San Diego Padres claimed Brito off of waivers on March 27, 2019.[12] Brito was designated for assignment on March 30, following the promotion of Nick Margevicius.

On April 2, 2019, Brito was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Rodrigo Orozco.[13] Brito was called up by the Blue Jays on April 4.[14] He was designated for assignment on May 10 after an abysmal start to the season in which he batted .077.[15] Brito spent the rest of the season in Triple–A with the Buffalo Bisons, hitting .282/.328/.510 with 16 home runs, and was named the Bisons MVP for 2019.[16] In 2019 in the major leagues, he again had the fastest sprint speed of all major league right fielders, at 29.8 feet/second.[17] Brito elected free agency following the season on November 4.[18]

Pittsburgh Pirates

On December 17, 2019, Brito signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates.[19] On July 5, 2020, it was announced that Brito had tested positive for COVID-19. Brito opted out of the 2020 season on September 1, after his brother died from COVID-19.[20] He became a free agent on November 2.[21]

New York Yankees

On January 1, 2021, Brito signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees organization.[22][23] Brito spent the 2021 season with the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders. He played in 107 games, hitting .251 with 9 home runs and 53 RBI. Brito became a free agent.

Kia Tigers

On December 26, 2021, Brito signed with the Kia Tigers of the KBO League.[24] Brito was named a KBO All-Star for the team in 2022, but did not participate due to injury and was replaced by Kim Hyun-soo.[25]

On November 9, 2022, Brito re-signed a one-year contract for the 2023 season worth $1.1 million. Brito was named a KBO All–Star in 2023.[26] In 142 games for the team, he batted .285/.344/.463 with 20 home runs, 96 RBI, and 15 stolen bases.

On December 18, 2023, Brito again re–signed with the Tigers on a one–year, $800,000 contract.[27] In 140 games for the team in 2024, he slashed .310/.359/.516 with 26 home runs, 97 RBI, and 13 stolen bases. With Kia, Brito won the 2024 Korean Series.[28] He became a free agent following the season.

Personal life

Brito is a second cousin to fellow major leaguer Franchy Cordero.[29]

References

  1. ^ Summers, Jeff (February 22, 2010). "Socrates Brito Signs with Arizona Diamondbacks". Bleacher Report. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  2. ^ foxsports (November 20, 2014). "D-backs add Drury, four others to roster". Foxsports.com. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  3. ^ "Diamondbacks farm report: Socrates Brito on a roll". Azcentral.com. July 9, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  4. ^ "Huang, Brito represent D-backs in Futures Game". Arizona Diamondbacks. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
  5. ^ "D-backs' minor leaguers Brito and Blair win organizational awards - Arizona Sports". September 29, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  6. ^ "Diamondbacks' Socrates Brito pushing Yasmany Tomas for starting job". Azcentral.com. March 12, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  7. ^ "Diamondbacks' Socrates Brito lands on DL with broken toe". Azcentral.com. June 24, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  8. ^ "Arizona Diamondbacks: Healthy Socrates Brito aims to win bench spot". Azcentral.com. February 18, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  9. ^ "Socrates Brito Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  10. ^ "Statcast Sprint Speed Leaderboard | baseballsavant.com". Baseballsavant.mlb.com. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  11. ^ "Reno Aces' Socrates Brito named to PCL All-Star team". RecordCourier.com. July 5, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  12. ^ AJ Cassavell (May 24, 2018). "Socrates Brito claimed by Padres". MLB.com. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  13. ^ Todd, Jeff (April 2, 2019). "Blue Jays Acquire Socrates Brito". MLB Trade Rumors.
  14. ^ "Blue Jays add Hanson, Brito; option Alford, Reid-Foley to triple-A". Sportsnet. April 4, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  15. ^ Todd, Jeff (May 10, 2019). "Blue Jays Select Javy Guerra, Designate Socrates Brito". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  16. ^ "Socrates Brito named Bisons MVP as team hands out 2019 player awards". MiLB.com. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  17. ^ "Statcast Sprint Speed Leaderboard | baseballsavant.com". Baseballsavant.mlb.com. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  18. ^ Matt Eddy (November 7, 2019). "Minor League Free Agents 2019". Baseball America. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  19. ^ "Pirates announce four non-roster invitees to Spring Training". MLB.com. December 17, 2019. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  20. ^ "Report: Pittsburgh Pirates Outfielder Socrates Brito Opts Out Of Season After His Brother Dies From Coronavirus". CBS Pittsburgh. September 1, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  21. ^ "Full List of 2020-2021 MiLB Free Agents". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  22. ^ "Yankees Sign Socrates Brito". January 2021.
  23. ^ "Sócrates Brito acuerda un pacto de liga menor con los New York Yankees". ESPNdeportes.com (in Spanish). January 1, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  24. ^ "KBO's Kia Tigers Sign Socrates Brito, Ronnie Williams". MLB Trade Rumors. December 26, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  25. ^ "Tigers starter Yang Hyeon-jong tops KBO All-Star voting". m-en.yna.co.kr. July 4, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  26. ^ "Reigning MVP Lee Jung-hoo tops KBO All-Star voting". m-en.yna.co.kr. June 26, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  27. ^ "KBO's KIA Tigers Re-Sign Socrates Brito". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  28. ^ "Kia Tigers win Korean Series for 1st time in 7 years". koreatimes.co.kr. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  29. ^ "Franchy Cordero, Socrates Brito are 2nd cousins". MLB.com. March 29, 2019. Retrieved September 1, 2020.