Ronny Cedeño

Professional career

Ronny Cedeño worked his way through the Chicago Cubs' minor league system over five seasons, eventually reaching Double-A with the Diamond Jaxx. In 116 games at that level, he hit .279 with six home runs and 48 runs batted in, earning a spot as a midseason All-Star in the Southern League. He got his first big league call-up in April 2005, stepping in for Nomar Garciaparra on the Cubs' roster, and made his MLB debut on April 23. But he mostly sat on the bench while Neifi Pérez took over at shortstop.

After the Cubs brought in Enrique Wilson, Cedeño was sent back to Triple-A Iowa. There, he tore it up in 65 games, batting .355 and posting a slugging percentage above .500 for the first time in his pro career. He returned to the Cubs in June after Wilson was demoted to Iowa. In 2006, Cedeño became the everyday shortstop, appearing in 151 games.

He hit .245 but also made 25 errors. His walk rate that season was the lowest in the National League at 3.1%, and four of his 17 walks were intentional. His walk-to-strikeout ratio of 0.16 was the worst in the majors. During the 2006 winter league in Venezuela, he averaged .555 over 45 games, scoring 25 runs and driving in 28.

Cedeño started 2007 on the bench, with César Izturis and Mark DeRosa locked in at shortstop and second base. His hitting struggles continued, and he was batting just .118 in the majors through August, spending much of that time back in Triple-A Iowa. When the Cubs traded center fielder Jacque Jones in November 2007, general manager Jim Hendry said the team wasn't necessarily looking for a veteran replacement, mentioning Cedeño along with Félix Pie and Sam Fuld as internal options.

Cedeño was asked to work on playing center field that winter. In 2008, he made the big league club out of spring training and stayed with the Cubs all season, mostly coming off the bench as Reed Johnson and later Jim Edmonds handled center field and Ryan Theriot held down shortstop. As the year went on, he got more chances to start at second base and shortstop, and he saw plenty of action as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement. He finished the season hitting .269 with 41 strikeouts in 216 at-bats, making 31 starts at second base and 20 at shortstop.

Did You Know?

• Cedeño had the lowest walk percentage in the National League in 2006 at 3.1%.
• He hit .355 in 65 games at Triple-A Iowa in 2005.
• Cedeño was hit in the head by a Heath Bell pitch on September 23, 2013, and sat out the rest of the season with concussion-like symptoms.
• He played for seven different MLB teams over his career.
• Cedeño hit a career-high 10 home runs in 2009 split between Seattle and Pittsburgh.