Lou Montañez

Luis Anibal Montañez (born December 15, 1981) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent.

Professional career

Minor leagues

Montañez was drafted by the Chicago Cubs third overall in the 2000 MLB Draft. He spent seven seasons in the Cubs' minor league system but never made it to the Major Leagues. On January 5, 2007, he signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles. After batting .335 with 26 home runs and 97 RBI in 116 games for the Orioles Double-A affiliate Bowie Baysox, he was called up to the Majors for the first time. In 2008, Montañez won the Eastern League Triple Crown despite missing nearly a month of the season after getting called up to the majors.^[1]

Baltimore Orioles

Montañez made his major league debut on August 5, 2008, but did not get an at-bat. On August 6, he hit a home run in his first at-bat making him the second Oriole to accomplish the feat. After starting the 2009 season playing for the Orioles Triple-A affiliate, Norfolk Tides, he was re-called to the majors on April 21 after an injury to Ryan Freel. On November 10, 2010 Montanez became a minor league free agent.

Chicago Cubs

Montañez signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs on January 2, 2011. He was called up from the Iowa Cubs on May 24, 2011 and was in the lineup that night at Wrigley Field against the New York Mets.^[2] His first at-bat resulted in an RBI double. He elected free agency on November 28.

Philadelphia Phillies

Montañez was signed to a minor league contract by the Philadelphia Phillies on December 21, 2011. He also received an invitation to spring training.^[3] He began the year with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. On May 4, Montañez was released.

St. Louis Cardinals

On May 21, Montañez signed a minor league deal with the St. Louis Cardinals and was assigned to Triple-A Memphis. In 101 total games that year, Montañez hit .241 with 26 RBI in 359 PA.

Somerset Patriots

On April 3, 2013, Montañez signed with the Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League.^[4] In 52 games with the club he hit .313 with 6HR and 41 RBI.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

On June 20, Montañez signed a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He was assigned to Double-A Arkansas.^[5]

See also

• List of players with a home run in first major league at-bat

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)