Shortly before the Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) matchup between the Tigres de Aragua and the Aguilas del Zulia on Wednesday, Jesús Aguilar, a former Major League Baseball veteran, was seen in the Tigres clubhouse and suited up for practice. Although he was ready for drills and cage work, Aguilar’s debut with the Tigres is still unclear.
“I have seen a very complete and competitive team. I hope to be able to adapt to help and complement this great group to go in search of what we all want, the championship,” Aguilar said to the press.
Over his whole career, Jesús Aguilar bounced between the Cleveland Indians (now the Guardians), the Milwaukee Brewers, the Tampa Bay Rays, the Miami Marlins, the Baltimore Orioles, and finally the Oakland Athletics. Aguilar has not seen action in Major League Baseball since 2023, but his time in professional baseball was not over after that. Most recently, Aguilar played for the Seibu Lions of the Nippon Professional Baseball’s Pacific League in Japan, where he played 30 games. In Japan with the Lions, he had two home runs, 23 hits, and 10 RBIs over 124 total plate appearances.
Aguilar is also a veteran of the LVBP. However, he has not played in Venezuela since the 2018-2019 season. The Maracay native played 22 games with the Tigres de Aragua, getting 23 hits, five doubles, and driving in 10 runs. Before that, he spent six years playing for the Leones del Caracas and, at that time, hit 48 home runs for the club. Over Jesús Aguilar’s career in the LVBP, he has 258 hits.
Aguilar’s addition to the Tigres this season will be sorely needed for the team. The Tigres de Aragua could use all the help they can get on offense to topple the mighty Tiburones de La Guaira, the Bravos de Margarita, and the Navegantes del Magallanes, all of whom lead the LVBP standings as of November 7. The Tigres are currently tied for third in the standings with the Navegantes, with 11 wins and ten losses each. The Tigres next game will be against the Bravos at 7 p.m. EST on November 7.
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