Michael Almanzar | |||
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Washington Nationals | |||
Third baseman / First baseman | |||
Born: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
December 2, 1990 |||
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Michael Gabriel Almanzar Campo (born December 2, 1990) is a Dominican professional baseball corner infielder in the Washington Nationals organization.
Almanzar signed as an amateur free agent with the Boston Red Sox at the age of 16, receiving a $1.5 million signing bonus, the largest the Red Sox had given to an amateur international free agent at the time.
Almanzar struggled in his early years in the system but showed improvement with the Salem and Portland clubs in 2012 and 2013. He was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2013 Rule 5 draft and was in spring training with the Orioles, where he was considered a contender to begin the 2014 season at third base replacing the injured Manny Machado. He then was diagnosed with tendinitis in his knee and placed on the 60-day disabled list at the end of March, beginning a rehabilitation stint on June 20 while appearing in nine games across three levels. Because Baltimore was unable to keep Almanzar on its 25-man roster, it was required to offer him back to Boston. The Orioles acquired Almanzar and Kelly Johnson from the Red Sox for Jemile Weeks and Iván DeJesús, Jr. on August 30. On January 6, 2017, Almanzar signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers. He was released on July 10, 2017.
On July 13, 2017, Almanzar signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals organization.
His father, Carlos Almanzar, pitched in the majors for five different teams in parts of eight seasons spanning 1997–2005.