Denard Span

[William Malone]

Keiunta Denard Span was born on February 27, 1984 in Washington, DC.

The Minnesota Twins selected him in round one of the 2002 MLB Draft. Baseball America ranked him as the Twins fifth best prospect in 2003, but early struggles in his minor league career saw him drop further down the list with each passing season. Span had a .689 OPS at Double-A in 2006, and a .678 OPS at Triple-A in 2007.

He finally had a breakout year while still at Triple-A in 2008, batting .340 with a .915 OPS in 40 games for the Rochester Red Wings. This earned him a big league call-up, where Span continued to impress. He slashed .294/.387/.432 over 94 games, getting regular playing time at right field while Michael Cuddyer was on the disabled list. Cuddyer was used as a bench bat when he eventually returned in September, keeping Span in the starting lineup.

Span opened 2009 in a left field platoon with Delmon Young. He eventually took over as the regular center fielder when Carlos Gómez began to struggle offensively. Span slashed .311/.392/.415 with 23 stolen bases and an American League leading ten triples. He was 6-for-15 (.400) in the 2009 ALDS, and recorded the first ever postseason hit in the new Yankee Stadium.

Minnesota bought out his future arbitration years and signed Span to a five year, $16.5 million deal just before spring training in 2010. There was also included a $9 million team option for the 2015 season. He hit three triples in a game on June 29, 2010 against the Detroit Tigers. It was the first time a player hit three triples in a big league game since 2002. His offense regressed in the Twins first year at Target Field, but he was still a fairly productive lead-off hitter by slashing .264/.331/.348 with 26 stolen bases. Span struggled a bit defensively, and was worth -5 defensive runs saved in center field. He was 4-for-13 (.308) during the 2010 ALDS.

A concussion limited Span to just 70 games in 2011. He initially suffered it in June during a home plate collision with Kansas City Royals catcher Brayan Peña. Span returned for nine games in August, but went back on the disabled list when symptoms started to pop up again. He slashed .264/.328/.359 with six stolen bases.

Span played closer to his Metrodome level in 2012, batting .283/.342/.395 with 38 doubles in 128 games. He was also worth 19 defensive runs saved in center field. Minnesota traded him to the Washington Nationals that off-season for pitching prospect Alex Meyer.

He hit .292 with 62 stolen bases during his three years in Washington, helping them reach the postseason in 2014. Span played for the San Francisco Giants in 2016 and 2017. He split the 2018 campaign with the Tampa Bay Rays and Seattle Mariners.

Span has worked as a color commentator for both the Rays and Twins since retiring.

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