Eduardo Andres Valencia (born January 25, 2000) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher and first baseman for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Career Valencia signed with the Detroit Tigers as an international free agent in April 2018.https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2025/09/23/henning-where-and-how-soon-will-detroit-tigers-find-a-place-for-eduardo-valencia/86307047007/
In 2025, Valencia made 103 appearances split between the Double-A Erie SeaWolves and Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens, batting a combined .311/.382/.559 with 24 home runs and 95 RBI. On November 18, 2025, the Tigers added Valencia to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.https://www.mlb.com/news/tigers-add-prospects-to-40-man-roster
Valencia was optioned to Triple-A Toledo to begin the 2026 season. On July 9, 2026, he was called up to give the Tigers an extra catcher while Dillon Dingler recovered from a badly bruised thumb. Valencia made his Major League debut that night as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning, where he hit a home run in his first at-bat against Hogan Harris of the Athletics. He is the tenth Tiger to hit a home run in his first MLB at-bat, but only the second to do so in a pinch hitting role, following Gates Brown in 1963. Valencia hit a two-run walk-off home run on September 26 against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Justin Verlander's final MLB game. The homer turned a potential Verlander loss to a no-decision. For the 2026 season, Valencia hit .341 with 8 home runs and 21 RBI in 42 games.
See also List of Major League Baseball players from Venezuela List of Major League Baseball players with a home run in their first major league at bat
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