Venezuelan baseball player and coach (born 1974)
Baseball player
Miguel Jesus Cairo
[ki'-row] (born May 4, 1974), is a
Venezuelan
former
professional baseball
infielder
and currently the
bench coach
for the
Washington Nationals
. He played in
Major League Baseball
(MLB) for nine different clubs in a 17-year career, spanning from 1996 to 2012. During his playing days, Cairo stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 225 pounds (102 kg) while batting and throwing right-handed. While primarily a
second baseman
, Cairo was able to play all the
infield
positions and as a
corner outfielder
. He was also used for
pinch-hitting
duties late in his career. He was interim manager for the White Sox in the latter part of the 2022 season as manager
Tony La Russa
stepped away due to health concerns.
Playing career
[
edit
]
Los Angeles Dodgers (1990?1995)
[
edit
]
Cairo was signed as an undrafted free agent by the
Los Angeles Dodgers
on September 20, 1990. After beginning his career with the Dodgers
Dominican Summer League
team, he played with the rookie class
Gulf Coast Dodgers
(1992), Class-A
Vero Beach Dodgers
(1992?1993), Advanced Class-A
Bakersfield Dodgers
(1994) and AA
San Antonio Missions
.
Toronto Blue Jays (1996)
[
edit
]
On November 29, 1995, the Dodgers traded Cairo with
Willis Otanez
to the
Seattle Mariners
for
Mike Blowers
,
[1]
who then traded him, along with
Bill Risley
, to the
Toronto Blue Jays
for
Edwin Hurtado
and
Paul Menhart
on December 18, 1995.
[2]
Cairo made his major league debut with the Toronto Blue Jays on April 17, 1996, as the starting 2nd baseman. In his first Major League at-bat, he hit a double off
Chuck Finley
of the
California Angels
. He played in 9 games for the Blue Jays, with six hits in 27 at-bats for a .222 average. He also played in 120 games for the AAA
Syracuse Chiefs
, hitting .277.
Chicago Cubs (1997)
[
edit
]
On November 20, 1996, he was traded to the
Chicago Cubs
in exchange for minor leaguer Jason Stevenson. Cairo spent most of the 1997 season with the AAA
Iowa Cubs
, where he hit .279 in 135 games and was selected to the
American Association
All-Star team. He also appeared in 16 games for the Cubs and had seven hits in 29 at-bats (.241).
Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998?2000)
[
edit
]
The
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
selected Cairo with the eighth pick in the
1997 MLB expansion draft
. He hit his first home run on April 28, 1998, off of
Mike Oquist
for the
Oakland Athletics
. He spent three seasons with the Devil Rays, playing fairly frequently, and hit .275 in 389 games. He was the final active player from their inaugural season when he retired.
Return to the Cubs (2001)
[
edit
]
Cairo signed with the
Oakland Athletics
during the 2000?2001 offseason, but in March 2001 he was traded back to the Cubs for
Eric Hinske
. In 66 games with the Cubs, he hit .285.
St. Louis Cardinals (2001?2003)
[
edit
]
In August 2001, the
St. Louis Cardinals
claimed Cairo on waivers from the Cubs. He remained with the Cardinals through the 2003 season. He hit .333 in 27 games in 2001, .250 in 108 games in 2002 and .245 in 92 games in 2003. He also appeared in the postseason for the first time in his career in 2001. In the
2002 National League Championship Series
against the
San Francisco Giants
he had five hits, including a home run, in 13 at-bats.
New York Yankees (2004)
[
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]
Cairo signed with the
New York Yankees
during the 2003?04 offseason.
In 2004, Cairo won the second base job with the Yankees after starting the year in a platoon with
Enrique Wilson
. Cairo led the league in percentage of productive outs in 2004 for players with a minimum of 40
at-bats
. Cairo recorded 17 productive outs in 32 productive out situations, for a PO% of 0.531. Cairo had the highest
winning percentage
of team wins when he played in a game of any player in the majors in 2004 (for players with over 100 games played). However, the Yankees declined to offer him a contract for 2005 and signed
Tony Womack
as their new second baseman.
New York Mets (2005)
[
edit
]
Cairo was signed by the
New York Mets
as a
free agent
before the 2005 season and hit .251 in 100 games.
Return to the Yankees (2006?2007)
[
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]
He returned to the Yankees in 2006 and hit .239 in 81 games.
On August 7, 2007, the Yankees designated him for assignment in order to make room on the 40-man roster for
Jason Giambi
. He was released on August 15.
Return to the Cardinals (2007)
[
edit
]
On August 19, 2007, the
St. Louis Cardinals
signed Cairo to a minor league contract, with him reporting to AAA Memphis on August 22. On September 1, 2007, the Cardinals activated him and brought him up to start at second base in a game against the
Cincinnati Reds
. He became a free agent after the season.
Seattle Mariners (2008)
[
edit
]
On January 8, 2008, he signed a one-year contract with the
Seattle Mariners
.
Early at the season, Cairo was seldom used, losing his playing time to teammate
Willie Bloomquist
and
Greg Norton
. Norton was soon traded to the
Atlanta Braves
and, with
outfield
trouble, the Mariners started a platoon with Bloomquist and
Jeremy Reed
in
center field
. which allowed Cairo to be a back-up for struggling
first baseman
Richie Sexson
.
On July 10, the Mariners released Sexson and Cairo assumed the role of full-time first baseman for a few days until
Bryan LaHair
was finished nursing a sore toe. For the rest of the season, Cairo shared duties at first base with
left-handed
hitting LaHair, and started at the other infield positions when the incumbents had an off-day.
Philadelphia Phillies (2009)
[
edit
]
On February 15, 2009, Cairo signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the Philadelphia Phillies.
[3]
On May 19, 2009, the Phillies outrighted Cairo to the AAA
Lehigh Valley IronPigs
.
[4]
Cairo was sent back up to the Phillies on August 23 after they placed
Greg Dobbs
on the 15-day DL. He returned to the utility infield position, and was retained by the club through the remainder of the regular season. His performance during this stint, including several key hits, led to his inclusion in the division-winning team's postseason roster.
[5]
Cincinnati Reds (2010?2012)
[
edit
]
On January 27, 2010, Cairo signed a minor league contract with the
Cincinnati Reds
. On April 2, Cairo made the Opening Day roster. On December 8, as a free agent, he signed a two-year deal with the Reds, which was the first multi-year contract of his career. He had the first multi-home run game of his career on August 13, against the
San Diego Padres
, in a game that the Reds won 13?1.
Venezuela League
[
edit
]
In between seasons, Cairo played winter ball with the
Leones del Caracas
and
Cardenales de Lara
clubs of the
Venezuelan League
during the 1993?2003 seasons, hitting .286 with a .351 slugging average in 358 games.
[6]
Additionally, he hit .308 for the 2000?2001 Cardenales champion team en route to the
2001 Caribbean Series
, where he batted .360 and slugged .680 with six RBI.
[7]
Post-playing career
[
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]
On February 14, 2013, the Reds announced that Cairo would operate as a special assistant to General Manager
Walt Jocketty
, effectively ending his playing career.
[8]
At the end of spring training the Reds third base coach
Mark Berry
was diagnosed with throat cancer, then Cairo filled as the team's bench coach while
Chris Speier
moved to third base.
[9]
With Berry's return, Cairo moved back to his intended spot as assistant to Jocketty.
He worked for the New York Yankees in Player Development and was an occasional infield coordinator throughout the Yankee minor league system.
On November 18, 2020, the
Chicago White Sox
announced that he would join the coaching staff. He is serving as the bench coach for manager
Tony La Russa
.
[10]
On August 12, 2021, Cairo managed the White Sox to victory over the Yankees in the first
Field of Dreams
game, as
Tony La Russa
was unavailable due to a family funeral.
[11]
On August 31, 2022, Cairo was named as acting manager of the White Sox while manager Tony La Russa underwent testing for an unnamed medical condition.
[12]
The White Sox would go 18?16 under Cairo but failed to reach the playoffs. On November 29, the White Sox announced that Cairo would not return to their staff in 2023.
[13]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Cairo's son, Christian, was drafted in the fourth-round of the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft by the
Cleveland Indians
. He spent the 2019 season with the Rookie League
Arizona League Indians
, playing in 46 games and hitting .178 with three doubles, a triple and no home runs.
[14]
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Dodgers acquire RBI man Blowers"
.
Tampa Bay Times
.
- ^
"M'S Trade Risley To Blue Jays, Acquire Two Young Pitchers | The Spokesman-Review"
.
www.spokesman.com
.
- ^
"Phillies agree to deal with Cairo"
. ESPN. February 15, 2009
. Retrieved
March 21,
2012
.
- ^
"Transactions"
. phillies.com. May 19, 2009
. Retrieved
March 21,
2012
.
- ^
"Cairo, Kendrick on Phils' NLDS roster"
. phillies.com. October 6, 2009
. Retrieved
March 12,
2012
.
- ^
"purapelota.com"
.
www.purapelota.com
.
- ^
Gutierrez, Daniel; Alvarez, Efraim; Gutierrez (h), Daniel (2006).
La Enciclopedia del Beisbol en Venezuela
. LVBP, Caracas.
ISBN
980-6996-02-X
- ^
"Cincinnati Reds on Twitter"
.
- ^
"Cairo to fill in when Berry undergoes treatment"
.
MLB.com
. April 5, 2013.
- ^
Pope, Lamond (December 2, 2020).
"Miguel Cairo jumped at the opportunity to join the Chicago White Sox staff as bench coach: 'It's amazing the kind of players that they have'
"
.
The Chicago Tribune
. March 1, 2021.
- ^
Merkin, Scott (August 11, 2021).
"La Russa to miss Field of Dreams Game"
.
MLB.com
. Retrieved
August 12,
2021
.
- ^
Merkin, Scott (August 31, 2022).
"La Russa away from club indefinitely amid medical tests"
.
MLB.com
. Retrieved
September 4,
2022
.
- ^
"White Sox round out coaching staff under new manager Grifol"
.
fox32chicago.com
. Retrieved
September 23,
2023
.
- ^
"Christian Cairo baseball statistics"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
December 27,
2020
.
External links
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]
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Active roster
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Inactive roster
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Injured list
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Coaching staff
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