Abraham Almonte

After being signed in 2005, was designated to play in the Dominican Summer League (DSL) for the DSL Yankees.[3] Almonte started his professional career as a second baseman, but was transitioned to outfield due to his speed and the organization's need for young outfielders.[4] In 63 DSL games, he batted .254 with 26 RBIs, eight home runs, and a .409 OBP, .450 SLG, and .859 OPS. The following season in 2007, Almonte was promoted to the Yankees' Gulf Coast League team, where he excelled with a .288 batting average in 49 games. Over the next two seasons (2008-2009), Almonte played for the Charleston RiverDogs of the Class A South Atlantic League. In 2009, Almonte batted .288 with 56 RBIs in 115 games. In 2010, shortly after being promoted to the Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, played only 15 games before undergoing surgery to repair a torn right labrum. He came back healthy in 2011 for Tampa, and reached a 34-game hit streak midseason. Almonte's performance earned him a promotion to the Trenton Thunder of the Class AA Eastern League. In 78 games, he batted .276 with four home runs and 25 RBIs.

Almonte batting for the Tacoma Rainers

On February 13, 2013, the Yankees traded Almonte to the Seattle Mariners for relief pitcher Shawn Kelley.[5] Once becoming a Mariner, Almonte was first sent to the Jackson Generals of the Class AA Southern League. While there, he hit .255 with 18 RBIs and 4 home runs in 29 games before impressing the organization enough to be called up to AAA-Tacoma. Almonte spent the majority of the 2013 campaign with the Tacoma Rainers, playing in 94 games and batting .314 with 50 RBIs, 11 home runs, and a. 403 OBP, .491 SLG and an .894 OPS.[3] These numbers were good enough to give Almonte a shot at the MLB level, as he was called up on August 30, 2013 and made his debut for the Seattle Mariners against the Astros on the road in Houston, Texas.[6]

On September 9, Almonte hit his first major league home run against the Houston Astros' relief pitcher Chia Jen Lo.[7]

Almonte impressed new manager Lloyd McClendon in spring training, and began the regular season as the starting center fielder and leadoff hitter for the Mariners. McClendon compared Almonte to Ron Leflore, an outfielder for the Detroit Tigers, Montreal Expos and Chicago White Sox in the 1970s and 1980s who was widely considered to be an energy player. Leflore slapped 16 homers and 30 doubles one season, and had 97 stolen bases in another. "He was a very powerful runner, good power to all fields, a slashing kind of guy that could create runs, produce runs."I think (Almonte) is going to be that type of guy," Mariners skipper Lloyd McClendon said.[8]

Almonte played in 27 games early in the 2014 campaign, and struggled to produce at the major league level, only batting a mere .198 with eight RBIs, 40 strikeouts and a .248 OBP and .292 SLG.[6] To halt the skid and rejuvenate the Mariners lineup, Almonte was optioned to AAA-Tacoma on May 5, 2014 to work on his game at the plate, and get his confidence back at a lower level of competition.[9][10] Advanced statistics in baseball are vast, and can help pin down where a player is struggling. For Almonte, these numbers have shown that his 39.5 percent swing rate is considerably below the MLB average. On the occasions that he did swing, putting the ball in play didn't come easily. A 35.4 percent strikeout rate also raised a red flag for the Mariners brass, which contributed to being sent down.[11]

Almonte (right) playing for the San Diego Padres in 2015

On July 31, 2014, the Mariners traded Almonte and Stephen Kohlscheen to the San Diego Padres for Chris Denorfia.[12]

On July 31, 2015, Almonte was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Marc Rzepczynski.[13] On August 8, 2015, Almonte was called up from the Columbus Clippers to start in center field.[14][15] Almonte was suspended for 80 games on February 26, 2016, after testing positive for boldenone.[16] Almonte was injured through portions of the 2017 season with the Indians, finishing with a .233 batting average and 3 home runs.

Almonte was designated for assignment on March 29, 2018.

Almonte was claimed by the Kansas City Royals on April 2, 2018.[17] On July 16 he was designated for assignment and released a few days later.[18]

On November 6, 2018, Almonte signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks.[19] Almonte spent the 2019 minor league season with the Reno Aces. On September 1, 2019, the Diamondbacks selected Almonte's contract. He was outrighted by the Diamondbacks on October 31,[20] and elected free agency on November 4.

On January 4, 2020, Almonte signed a minor league deal with the San Diego Padres.

In 2007 after the passing of his father, Almonte began drinking alcohol on a daily basis to cope with his grief.[21] As a teenager living in New York, Almonte would regularly go out to clubs on weekdays and drink all night prior to his training the next day. His alcohol addiction remained somewhat harmless until 2010. During the start of the Yankees' 2010 Campaign, Almonte was the team's starting second baseman for his minor league club. 15 games into the season Almonte tore his labrum in his right shoulder which would require surgery.[22] With more time away from baseball than ever before, Almonte found more time to drink, which he would do even more frequently. The addiction became something that Almonte was aware of and wanted to put an end to, but the cravings were too strong and he didn't know how to stop them.

It wasn't until 2011 that Almonte was able to address and overcome his addiction. He credits the power of God as the thing that was able to make him realize alcohol was ruining his life. Almonte started regularly attending church and was able to make more time for family and friends. After only a month of sobriety, Almonte lost 30 pounds and rejuvenated his baseball career.[21]

Almonte has openly claimed that his faith holds the key to his success. "God has something bigger," Almonte said in an interview with The News Tribune. "He is going to keep using me up here in the big leagues. No matter where they send me – big leagues, minor leagues, home, wherever they send me – I know I'm going to do whatever God wants me to do. Baseball or no baseball, if I do it to glorify God's name, I think I'll be OK."[23]