Tommy Manzella

He was drafted by the Astros in the 3rd round of the 2005 Major League Baseball draft.^[3] Manzella went on to play for the Tri-City ValleyCats of the New York–Penn League. He played in 53 games and finished with a .232 batting average in 220 at-bats with 18 RBI, and five stolen bases.

He was promoted to the Lexington Legends in 2006, where he played 99 games and finished with a .275 batting average in 338 at-bats with seven home runs, 43 RBI, and 16 stolen bases along with a .956 fielding percentage. In 2007, Manzella split time between the Salem Avalanche and Corpus Christi Hooks, playing in 121 games with a .264 combined batting average in 451 at bats with one home run, 39 RBI, and 15 stolen bases.

In 2008, Manzella played in 54 games with the Hooks before being promoted to the Triple-A Round Rock Express, where he struggled with a .219 batting average with no home runs and 15 RBI, but had his best fielding percentage at .989.

The Astros signed Manzella to a one-year, $400,000 major league contract on February 15 after having added him to the 40-man roster in November to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. He was called up to the major leagues along with Chris Johnson and Billy Sadler by the Astros. He recorded his first major league hit, off of Donnie Veal of the Pittsburgh Pirates, on September 11.

Manzella was the Opening Day shortstop with the Astros in 2010, and Jeff Keppinger also got time there when he wasn't at second base. He went 13-58 (.224) with 3 RBI in April. Manzella hit his first major league home run, a two-run home run off of Rodrigo López of the Diamondbacks, on May 5, putting the Astros on top 2-1 in a game they eventually won 3-2. He hit .192 (14-73) with five RBI in May. When the Astros placed Kazuo Matsui on waivers on May 20, Keppinger took over full-time at second base, making Manzella the full-time shortstop. He was hitting .224 (13-58) in June before he fractured his left index finger on June 22 when Nate Schierholtz slid into it trying to steal second base.^[4] The Astros recalled Oswaldo Navarro to take over at shortstop, but they eventually acquired Ángel Sánchez to take over on July 1. He rehabbed at Corpus Christi and Round Rock for 11 games total before returning on August 19. He finished the year splitting time with Sánchez at shortstop. In 83 games with the Astros, he hit .225 with one home run, 21 RBI and a .973 fielding percentage.

Manzella was cut from spring training on March 24, 2011, and Matt Downs and Joe Inglett were named as the backup infielders to begin the regular season, while Sánchez was the shortstop. Manzella began 2011 with the Triple-A Oklahoma City RedHawks. With Clint Barmes established as the starting shortstop, and Sánchez as his backup, Manzella had no role on the major league roster, and on August 10, he was designated for assignment.^[5] In 109 games with Oklahoma City, he hit .230 with seven home runs and 48 RBI.

Manzella was claimed off waivers by the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 11.^[6] He was assigned to the Triple-A Reno Aces, where in 22 games to finish 2011, he hit .246 with one home run, three RBI and seven runs. After not being called up when the rosters expanded in September, he was designated for assignment on September 19; he cleared waivers and was sent outright Triple-A.^[7]

Manzella began 2012 with Reno, where he played in 15 games before being released on May 6. He was hitting 4-for-40 with two RBI and two runs.

Manzella was signed to a minor league contract on May 8, 2012 by the Milwaukee Brewers. He provided depth in the infield after injuries to Alex González and Mat Gamel. On July 29, Manzella was released by the Brewers organization after playing for the Double-A Huntsville Stars. He was hitting .252 with one home and 28 RBI across 62 appearances.^[8]

On July 31, 2012, Manzella signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox. He was assigned to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights the following day. Manzella played in 14 games for the Knights, where he went 7-for-41 with six RBI and four runs. After the season, he became a minor league free agent.

On December 13, 2012, Manzella signed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies.^[9] Manzella began the 2013 season with Colorado`s Triple-A affiliate, the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, and appeared in 32 games, but was released on May 28 after batting .190 in 32 games with no home runs and 10 RBI.^[10]

On June 4, 2013, Manzella signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, and assigned him to their Double-A affiliate New Hampshire Fisher Cats.^[11] He started for the Fisher Cats at third base on June 4. Manzella was released on August 5. In 21 games with New Hampshire, he hit .265 with 10 RBI and 10 runs.

On August 12, 2013, Manzella signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox, and started at shortstop for the Double-A Birmingham Barons that night.^[12] On August 30, after batting .059 through 34 at-bats, Manzella was released by the White Sox organization.

On January 10, 2014, Manzella signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was released prior to the start of the regular season on March 26.

• Career statistics from MLB · ESPN · Baseball Reference · Fangraphs · Baseball Reference (Minors) · Retrosheet  · Baseball Almanac