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Brent Lillibridge

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Brent Lillibridge
Lillibridge with the Chicago White Sox in 2011
Utility player
Born: (1983-09-18) September 18, 1983 (age 41)
Everett, Washington, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 26, 2008, for the Atlanta Braves
Last MLB appearance
August 4, 2013, for the New York Yankees
MLB statistics
Batting average.205
Home runs19
Runs batted in71
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place 2003 Santo Domingo Team competition

Brent Stuart Lillibridge (born September 18, 1983) is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, and New York Yankees. He was known for his versatile playing skills and defensive prowess in the outfield. As a utility player, he started at every position except pitcher and catcher in his career.

Amateur career

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Lillibridge attended Henry M. Jackson High School in Mill Creek, Washington.[1]

Lillibridge played college baseball for the Washington Huskies for three seasons and was named to the All-Pac-10 Conference Team three times.[2][3] In 2004, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[4][5]

Professional career

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Pittsburgh Pirates

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The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Lillibridge in the fourth round, with the 121st overall selection, of the 2005 MLB draft.[6]

Lillibridge with Atlanta in 2008

Atlanta Braves

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On January 17, 2007, the Pirates traded Lillibridge with Mike Gonzalez to the Atlanta Braves for Adam LaRoche and Jamie Romak.[7]

Lillibridge began the 2008 season in Triple-A for the Richmond Braves. He played 19 games and batted .195 with one home run before his contract was purchased on April 26, 2008.[8] He made his major league debut on that same day against the New York Mets and had four at bats and struck out three times. He doubled for his first major league hit on June 25 at Toronto. On July 12, in a game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, Lillibridge hit his first major league home run against relief pitcher Joe Thatcher.[9]

Chicago White Sox

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On December 4, 2008, the Braves traded Lillibridge, Tyler Flowers, Jon Gilmore, and Santos Rodriguez to the Chicago White Sox for Javier Vázquez and Boone Logan.[10]

On April 11, 2011, Lillibridge hit a fifth-inning home run off Dallas Braden. It was the 10,000th home run hit by the White Sox in their 112-year history.[11][12] Lillibridge garnered media coverage after he made two back-to-back, game-saving and game-ending defensive catches while playing right field on April 26 against the New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium.[13]

Boston Red Sox

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On June 24, 2012, Lillibridge was traded to the Boston Red Sox with Zach Stewart for Kevin Youkilis and cash.[14] The Red Sox designated him for assignment on July 16.

Cleveland Indians

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Boston traded Lillibridge to the Cleveland Indians on July 24, 2012 for minor league pitcher José De La Torre.[15] On November 20, Lillibridge was outright outright to the Triple-A Columbus Clippers.[16][17] Lillibridge declined the assignment to Columbus and was granted free agency on November 26.

Chicago Cubs

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Lillibridge with the Iowa Cubs in 2013

On January 10, 2013, Lillibridge signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs.[18] On March 31, the Cubs added Lillibridge to their major league active roster.[19][20] He was designated for assignment on April 16.[21] On April 19, Lillibridge cleared waivers and was assigned to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs of the Pacific Coast League.[22]

New York Yankees

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On June 21, 2013, Lillibridge was traded to the New York Yankees for cash.[23] The Yankees promoted Lillibridge to the major leagues when they placed Derek Jeter on the disabled list on July 19.[24] He was designated for assignment to make room for the activation of Alex Rodriguez on August 5.[25] He was outrighted from the 40-man roster and optioned to Triple-A on August 9.[26] He declared free agency on October 1.

Texas Rangers

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Lillibridge signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers on December 12, 2013.[27] He was assigned to the minor league camp on March 22, 2014, failing to make the Rangers' Opening Day roster.[28] He became a free agent after the 2014 season and had chosen to retire by the start of the 2015 season.[29][30]

Personal life

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Lillibridge and his wive have three children.[30] Lillibridge is a Christian, and his invitation to baseball player Steven Souza Jr. to attend church with him led to Souza's baptism.[31]

Lillibridge's younger brother Kiel was his teammate with the Washington Huskies in 2005.[2][32]

As of 2025, Lillibridge is one of the owners of a batting cage and baseball and softball training company in Washington state.[33]

References

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  1. ^ "Brent Lillibridge Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Player Bio: Brent Lillibridge". University of Washington Athletics. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
  3. ^ "University of Washington Baseball Players Who Made It to a Major League Baseball Team". Baseball Almanac. Archived from the original on December 2, 2005. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  4. ^ "Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League" (PDF). capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  5. ^ "2004 Harwich Mariners". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  6. ^ "Lillibridge, Everitt Selected In MLB Draft". Washington Huskies. June 7, 2005. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  7. ^ "Braves trade LaRoche to Bucs for Gonzalez". ESPN. January 19, 2007. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  8. ^ "Lillibridge To Make MLB Debut Today". Gohuskies.com. April 26, 2008. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  9. ^ "Francoeur's tiebreaking single helps Braves bury Padres". ESPN.com. Associated Press. July 12, 2008. Retrieved March 14, 2025.
  10. ^ "Braves complete Vazquez deal". MLB.com. December 4, 2008. Retrieved December 4, 2008.
  11. ^ MLB (November 28, 2017). 10,000th home run in White Sox franchise history. Retrieved June 17, 2025 – via YouTube.
  12. ^ Jaffe, Chris (April 13, 2011). "10,000th franchise homer". The Hardball Times. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
  13. ^ "In case you missed the game-saving catches by White Sox OF Brent Lillibridge (video)". Chicago Sun-Times. November 27, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  14. ^ Merkin, Scott. "White Sox acquire Youkilis from Red Sox". MLB.com. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
  15. ^ Bastian, Jordan (July 24, 2012). "Tribe acquires Lillibridge from Red Sox". MLB.com. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  16. ^ Bastian, Jordan (November 20, 2012). "Tribe adds four Minor Leaguers to 40-man roster". MLB.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  17. ^ Hoynes, Paul (November 20, 2012). "Matt LaPorta outrighted as Cleveland Indians add 4 to 40-man roster for Rule 5 Draft". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  18. ^ Muskat, Carrie (January 10, 2013). "Cubs sign Valbuena, announce 16 spring invites". MLB.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  19. ^ Muskat, Carrie (March 31, 2013). "Cubs to decide on Barney's status Monday". MLB.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  20. ^ Muskat, Carrie (April 1, 2013). "Takahashi, Gonzalez, Lilllibridge make roster". MLB.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  21. ^ Nowak, Joey (April 16, 2013). "Cubs shake up bench, 'pen, add Ransom, Loe, Gregg". MLB.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  22. ^ Arguello, John (April 19, 2013). "Cubs Game Notes and Thread: Doing the roster shuffle — Lillibridge, Gonzalez, Takahashi | Cubs Den". Chicagonow.com. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  23. ^ Padilla, Doug (April 26, 2011). "Cubs trade utility man Lillibridge to Yanks". Espn.go.com. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  24. ^ Hoch, Bryan (July 19, 2013). "Lillibridge excited for opportunity with Yanks". MLB.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  25. ^ Randhawa, Manny (August 5, 2013). "Calf strain forces Jeter back to disabled list". MLB.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  26. ^ Eddy, Matt (August 19, 2013). "Minor League Transactions: Aug. 8-15". Baseball America. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  27. ^ Sullivan, T. R. (December 13, 2013). "Rangers in good shape after Winter Meetings". MLB.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  28. ^ "Texas Rangers send Brent Lillibridge to minor league camp". Dallas Morning News. March 22, 2014. Archived from the original on March 23, 2014. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  29. ^ Eddy, Matt (November 7, 2014). "Minor League Free Agents 2014". Baseball America. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  30. ^ a b Myhre, Rich (April 20, 2015). "Lillibridge is teaching others how to play the game he loves". Everett Herald. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  31. ^ "Faith helps Rays' Steven Souza Jr. turn around life, career". TampaBay.com. March 8, 2015.
  32. ^ Rardon, J.R. (March 30, 2005). "Brothers stick with the home team". The Seattle Times. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
  33. ^ "Our Owners Journey - Brent Lillibridge". BASE by Pros. December 18, 2024.
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