MLB Players: Top 10 old faces in new places for 2020
By Phil Watson
MLB Players: Top 10 old faces in new places for 2020
6. player. 82. . . . jonathan villar
How acquired: Marlins traded Easton Lucas to Orioles for Villar on Dec. 2
Jonathan Villar very quietly had a very good season for the dismal Baltimore Orioles in 2019, leading the majors as one of five MLB players to appear in all 162 games, while finishing third in the AL with 40 stolen bases and eighth with a success rate of 81.63 percent.
He led the AL with a 30.0 power-speed number while splitting time between both middle infield positions. He made 85 starts at second base and started 73 games at shortstop.
His slash line of .274/.339/.453 was his best since his first season as a regular with Milwaukee in 2016 and he clubbed a career-high 24 home runs to go with 111 runs, 33 doubles, and 73 RBI.
The Miami Marlins didn’t part with a lot to get Villar, trading away 23-year-old left-hander Easton Lucas, who was a 14th-round pick last June from Pepperdine and pitched at Batavia in low-A as well as making one appearance for the Marlins rookie league entry in the Gulf Coast League.
Villar signed a one-year, $8.2 million deal in January to avoid arbitration this year and is eligible for free agency until after this season.
Villar will be 29 on May 2 and is likely close to his ceiling as a power/speed guy who strikes out a ton (176 in 714 plate appearances last season). The Depth Charts projections at FanGraphs have Villar dipping a but with the move to Miami, forecasting a .259/.328/.406 slash line with 17 homers, 81 runs and 61 RBI to go with 37 steals.