Following in the footsteps of his former Los Angeles Dodgers teammate David Freese, Kristopher Negrón announced his retirement on social media. Negrón shared the news on Twitter, thanking the Dodgers and other organizations he played for his career.
Negrón made his MLB debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 2012 and went on to spend parts of six seasons in the Majors. His most significant opportunities came during the 2014 and 2015 seasons with the Reds, when he appeared in 92 games over the two years.
Aside from that, Negrón played a combined 40 games with the Seattle Mariners and Dodgers. He was acquired by L.A. in exchange for Daniel Castro just three days before the July 31 trade deadline, and filled a need as the team’s depth had been sapped due to injuries to Kiké Hernandez and Chris Taylor.
Negrón made an immediate impact with the Dodgers as he hit an opposite-field home run in his first at-bat with the team. He followed that up with a homer and multi-hit effort the following day and began his Dodgers career with a seven-game hitting streak.
👋🏽⚾️❤️ pic.twitter.com/h1J0mCLVXw
— Kristopher Negrón (@KNegs17) November 12, 2019
While the 33-year-old provided unexpected production at the plate, he lived up to a reputation of being a versatile defender. Negrón spent time at second base, third base, shortstop, left field, center field and right field.
Though his tenure with the Dodgers was brief, Negrón provided a fitting L.A. memory during Players Weekend by opting for a “Negrón James” nickname.
“A lot of Latin guys when I was coming up thought it was funny: LeBron James, Negrón James,” he explained to DodgerBlue.com “So I kind of just ran with that. Ryan Ludwick heard it and thought it was the funniest thing in the world so he kept calling me it.”
In addition to the Reds, Mariners and Dodgers, the utility man also played for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He retires after batting .221/.291/.336 with 14 doubles, nine home runs and 32 RBI in 170 games.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events and more!
