Viciedo, now 36, is a Cuban slugger who played parts of five seasons in the majors with the White Sox from 2010 to 2014. Viciedo is considered one of the best players in the league after hitting well in the Cuban National Series as a teenager before defecting to play in the majors. Viciedo impressed in a 38-game cup of coffee as he hit .308/.321/.519 overall. 106 plate appearances for the White Sox in 2010. That seemed to portend a promising future, but Viciedo would not have a full season at the big league level in 2012. In parts of three seasons as a regular big league player for the White Sox, he hit just .250/.294/.425 with a wRC+ of 95.
Although he showed consistent 20-homer pop with the bat, Viciedo was held back by a free-swinging approach that saw him walk in on just 5.3% of his trips to the plate during his years as a regular. A 95 wRC+ is hardly unplayable at the big league level, but Viciedo primarily played the outfield corner during his time with the White Sox and received poor grades for his fielding on the grass. Considering that, it wasn’t a surprise when the White Sox released him prior to the 2015 season. He spent 2015 in the A’s and White Sox farm systems before making the jump to NPB’s Chunichi Dragons in 2016.
Viciedo has done quite well abroad. In 1001 NPB games over the years, he has managed to hit .287/.352/.458 with 141 career home runs. However, in recent years, things started to take a turn for the worse for Viciedo as he began to struggle in Central League play. After back-to-back seasons for the Dragons in 2023 and ’24, Viciedo essentially left Japan and signed with the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos of the Mexican League. In 38 games for his new club, Viciedo looked like his old self, hitting .276/.359/.462 with eight home runs.
That was enough to catch the attention of the BayStars, and he signed with them in July to finish out the 2025 season in Japan. He hit .259/.322/.383 in 43 Central League games last year and will now return to the BayStars for a full season in 2026 as he looks to reestablish himself in the NPB. He was accompanied by former big leaguers Mike Ford, Tyler AustinAnd Yoshi Tsutsugo in the BayStars lineup through the 2025 season. Although Viciedo primarily played the outfield corner during his time in the Majors, he was primarily a first baseman in the NPB and will likely fill a first base/DH role for the BayStars in 2026.
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