Washington Signs Alexander Ovalles After Five-Season MiLB Run
WASHINGTON, Pa. (April 18) – The Washington Wild Things have come close to finalizing the camp roster for the upcoming spring training portion of the 2024 season. Today the team signed infielder Alexander Ovalles in a move presented by McClellands Contracting and Roofing, LLC.
The 23-year-old native of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic split parts of five minor-league seasons between three different organizations: the Chicago Cubs, the Texas Rangers and most recently the Tampa Bay Rays. Ovalles played in 2018 with the DOSL affiliate of the Cubs, appearing in 21 games and slashing .316/.430/.368 with eight RBI to start his professional career.
In August of 2018, Ovalles was traded to the Rangers’ organization, where he spent 2019 between two teams. He played 25 games for the AZL Rangers and 24 for Spokane (A-). In the 49 games total, he slashed .293/.354/.488 with 14 doubles, seven triples, for homers and 33 RBI.
On December 10, 2020, Ovalles, along with C Heriberto Hernandez and Osleivis Basabe were traded to the Rays for Nate Lowe, Jake Guenther and a player to be named. Ovalles was assigned to Charleston, where he played in 89 games in 2021, amassing 13 doubles, two triples, eight home runs and 46 RBI. Three of those eight homers came in one game May 15, 2021, against the Fayetteville Woodpeckers for the Class-A affiliate. He homered three times, had five hits in six trips and drove in 10 runs in the single contest.
Ovalles would go on to split time between A+ Bowling Green (89 games), Double-A Montgomery (10 games) and Triple-A Durham (three games) in 2022. In 102 games that season, he slashed .258/.354/.445 with 19 doubles, three triples, 14 homers and 65 RBI. He also walked a career-best 49 times that season.
Last year, Ovalles played in four games at the rookie-ball level and 32 with Double-A Montgomery. In 36 total games, he drove in 16 and walked 26 times.
During his MiLB tenure, he played 117 games at first base and 173 in the outfield, with the most action there coming in left field (84 games). He was selected in the Rule-5 draft’s minor-league portion this past December by the Reds before his release from the Reds’ organization in late March.
Washington is set to open its season at home Friday, May 10 against the Boomers. Season ticket and group packages, plus single game tickets are available for purchase now by calling 866-456-WILD or going to washingtonwildthings.com. Fans can also follow the team’s social media pages and site for news on the building of the roster, including on X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and now, once again, YouTube. Search @WashWildThings, go to youtube.com/@WashWildThings or go to facebook.com/washingtonwildthings.
