The Aguilas Cibaenas signed Panamanian catcher Christian Bethancourt for the second half of the 2024-25 LIDOM regular season, the organization announced on August 28.
¡BETHANCOURT ESTÁ DE VUELTA!
Anunciamos la contratación del receptor de Grandes Ligas, Christian Bethancourt, quien estará con el equipo en la segunda parte de la temporada 2024-25. pic.twitter.com/23Qh0RtRib
— Águilas Cibaeñas (@aguilascibaenas) August 28, 2024
Bethancourt, 32, was born in Panama City, Panama, and has played eight seasons in Major League Baseball with the Atlanta Braves from 2013-15, the San Diego Padres from 2016-17, the Oakland Athletics in 2022, the Tampa Bay Rays from 2022-23, the Miami Marlins in 2024 and signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs on July 5.
Bethancourt also played one season with the NC Dinos in 2019 in the Korea Baseball Organization.
Bethancourt has played in 10 games with the Cubs with 24 plate appearances, hitting .364, ripping eight hits, three doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, one stolen base, two walks, and six strikeouts.
He played in seven games with Triple-A Iowa before being activated to the North Side on July 26. Bethancourt had 27 plate appearances, batting .197, dialing five hits, two RBI, one walk, and seven strikeouts.
Bethancourt played in 38 games with Miami before he was released on June 27 and hit .159 with 88 plate appearances, smacking 13 hits, three doubles, two home runs, seven RBI, three walks, and striking out 22 times.
Bethancourt was also designated for assignment from the Marlins on June 21.
Bethancourt was placed on the 10-day injured list on April 15 with a viral illness before being sent to rehab assignment on April 19 to Triple-A Jacksonville.
He played in three games with Triple-A Jacksonville and batted .231 with 13 plate appearances, recording three hits, one double, one stolen base, and six strikeouts.
Last winter league season, Bethancourt played in the 2024 Caribbean Series at loanDepot Park in Miami with the 2024 Panamá Probeis champion Federales de Chriqui and won third place, beating the Curacao Suns 5-4.
The Federales de Chirqui went 5-1 in pool play at the 2024 Caribbean Series before losing to the 2023-24 LIDOM champion Tigres del Licey 4-1 in the semifinals.
Bethancourt played in eight games at the 2024 Caribbean Series with Federales de Chiriqui and had 35 plate appearances, hitting .200, smacking six hits, two doubles, one home run, two RBI, one stolen base, three walks, and four strikeouts.
Last season with the Rays, Bethancourt played in 104 games with 332 plate appearances, batting .225, recording 71 hits, 16 doubles, 11 home runs, 33 RBI, 13 walks, 91 strikeouts, and a .635 OPS.
In his 17 seasons between the minor leagues, the winter leagues, KBO, and the MLB, Bethancourt has a lifetime average of .261 while playing in 1,490 games with 5,391 plate appearances, ripping 1,315 hits, 256 doubles, 15 triples, 129 home runs, 645 RBI, 88 stolen bases, 250 walks, 1,047 strikeouts, and a .690 OPS.
Bethancourt had seven RBI, scored three runs, and rocked three hits in his five at-bats against the Pittsburgh Pirates on the road in their 14-10 win on August 28.
The Aguilas Cibaeñas will play the Gigantes del Cibao on the road in the first game of the 2024-25 regular season at 7 p.m. EST on October 16 at Estadio Julian Javier in San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic.
All 2024-25 LIDOM regular season games will be streamed on MLB.TV with a paid subscription until the final out of their best-of-seven championship series in January.
Photo Credit: Christian Bethancourt of the Chicago Cubs celebrates a home run in a game against the Detroit Tigers at Wrigley Field on August 20, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images)
