In 2017, the same year they signed current center fielder Andy Pages out of Cuba, the Los Angeles Dodgers also signed another top international prospect, versatile infielder Eddys Leonard, out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, at the age of 16. By 2022, Leonard was added to the Dodgers’ 40-man roster and rose as high as No. 8 in the Dodgers prospect rankings, according to MLB Pipeline.
Just three years later, Leonard has bounced from the Dodgers to the Detroit Tigers to the Atlanta Braves before electing free agency on Nov. 6. In his career so far, Leonard has yet to get even a taste of the major leagues.
On Wednesday, Leonard landed a new deal with the team that won more regular season games, 97, than any other club this year, the Milwaukee Brewers, according to a report by MLB.com Brewers beat writer Adam McCalvy.
The minor league contract includes an invitation to the Brewers’ spring training in 2026, offering Leonard one more chance to impress a major league organization.
In his seven minor league seasons across all levels, the 5-foot-10, 195-pound right-handed batter compiled an impressive .800 OPS with 95 home runs in 674 games. But the Dodgers designated Leonard for assignment in 2023 along with another prospect to make room on their 40- man roster for pitchers Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly, acquired in a trade with the Chicago White Sox.
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Rather than release Leonard, the Dodgers worked out a trade with the Detroit Tigers, whose president of baseball operations, Scott Harris, said at the time that the prospect “performed really well at the lower levels and does a lot of the things under the hood that we like in hitters. We’re going to send him straight to Triple-A and give him a chance to demonstrate that he can perform at that level,” as quoted by Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.
But on March 27 the Tigers’ Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens released Leonard, who then signed with the Braves four days later.
After a solid, 20 home run season with Atlanta’s Gwinnett Stripers Triple-A club, Leonard chose to become a free agent, signing with Milwaukee six days later.
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