Alex Cintrón

Alexander Cintrón (born December 17, 1978) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball infielder who is currently the hitting coach for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, and Washington Nationals and was also the hitting coach for the Houston Astros.

Playing career

Arizona Diamondbacks

Cintrón was drafted in the 36th round (1,103rd overall) of the 1997 Major League Baseball draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He spent the 1997 season with the Arizona League Diamondbacks where he hit .197 with six doubles, a triple and 20 RBI in 43 games. He also appeared in one game with the Lethbridge Black Diamonds in the Pioneer League and went 1-for-3. He was also named to the Texas League All-Star team.

In 2001, Cintrón hit .292 with 24 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 35 RBIs in 107 games for the Triple-A Tucson Sidewinders. Cintrón made his major league debut with the D-Backs on July 24, 2001. He collected his first major-league hit with a single off the New York Mets' Donne Wall on August 3. Cintrón hit .286 with a triple in eight games with the Diamondbacks, and was optioned back to Tucson on August 6.

Cintrón played in 38 games with the D'Backs over four separate stints in 2002, batting .213 with 4 RBI. Cintrón was returned to Tucson after the All-Star Break but was recalled for the final time on August 21.

In 2003, Cintrón had a break-out season after being recalled on May 6 following an injury to Craig Counsell. Cintrón went on to lead Arizona with a .317 average, ranked second with 26 doubles and third with 70 runs scored and a .489 slugging percentage. Cintrón posted three straight three-hit games from June 14 to June 17. He hit his first walk-off home run on June 20 against the Cincinnati Reds off Scott Williamson.

Cintrón continued his success into 2004, where he led the Diamondbacks in games played (154) and at-bats (564) and finished second in doubles (31) and third in hits (148).

Cintrón appeared in 122 games with Arizona in 2005, down from 154 in 2004.

Chicago White Sox

On March 8, 2006, Cintrón was traded to the Chicago White Sox for Jeff Bajenaru. That season, Cintrón made 41 appearances at shortstop, 26 at second base and 11 at third base, compiling a .972 fielding percentage.

He batted .243 with two home runs and 19 RBI in 68 games in his second season with the White Sox in 2007.

Baltimore Orioles

Cintrón signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the Chicago Cubs on February 18, 2008. He was released on March 26, and was signed to another minor league contract by the Baltimore Orioles on March 31. After starting the season with the Norfolk Tides, his contract was purchased by the Orioles, and he was added to the active roster on May 11. He went 4-for-4 in his first start with Baltimore on May 17 against the Washington Nationals. On July 1, Cintrón was placed on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring. He was activated on August 1. He hit .352 at Camden Yards. 27 of 28 starts came at shortstop. Cintrón filed for free agency after the 2008 season.

Washington Nationals

thumb|200px|right|Cintrón with the Washington Nationals

Cintrón signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals for the 2009 season. Although he competed for a spot on the Nationals' roster during spring training, Cintrón was sent to the minors on April 4. His contract was purchased from the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs on April 18. He went 2-for-26 (.077) in 21 games with the Nationals before he was designated for assignment on May 19.

Later career

On July 8, 2009, Cintrón signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners. He played 30 games with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, batting .248 with two home runs and 9 RBI. With the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, Cintrón batted .228 with a home run and 3 RBI in 20 games. He signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres on May 3, 2011.

On May 24, 2011, Padres minor league broadcaster Tim Hagerty announced through Twitter that Cintrón had retired. No details were given; the tweet simply said "Alex Cintron has retired." It was reported on July 18 that he was considering coming out of retirement.

In early 2012, Cintrón came out of retirement to play for the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.

Coaching career

Cintrón was Manager of the Azucareros de Yabucoa (his hometown) in Puerto Rico's Superior Baseball League (Double-A Category).

The Houston Astros hired Cintrón as the club's Spanish-language interpreter, advance scout, and assistant coach for the 2017 season. He served as the Astros' first base coach in 2018. The Astros reassigned him as hitting coach following the 2019 season.

On August 11, 2020, Cintrón was suspended 20 games for inciting a brawl with Ramón Laureano on August 9, one of the longest ever suspensions of an MLB coach for an on-field incident. Cintrón had stepped out of the Astros dugout onto the field and taunted Laureano to approach him, as if to fight, after Laureano complained about getting hit by pitches. Cintrón remained behind several Astros players when Laureano charged at him.

Cintrón was announced as the first manager of RA12 before their inaugural 2020–21 season but withdrew from the team in late October due to health concerns.

In 2022, the Astros won 106 games, the second-highest total in franchise history. They advanced to the World Series and defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in six games. In the pivotal Game 6, Cintron and fellow hitting coach Troy Snitker noticed that Yordan Alvarez had a hitch in his swing (namely due to his weight being shifted in his front leg) that merited adjustment. Cintron looked at video from a few months ago and saw that Alvarez's hands had dropped in his stance from June, which made it harder to deal with a fastball. Alvarez would go on to hit the go-ahead home run in the sixth inning to deliver the championship. The win gave Cintrón his first World Series title as an Astro.

Prior to the 2023 season, the Toronto Blue Jays interviewed Cintrón for their bench coach position. While the Blue Jays had still yet to finalize their decision, it was announced on November 21, 2022, that the Astros signed Cintrón to a contract to remain through the 2025 season. On October 9, 2025, Cintrón and the Astros parted ways.

On November 13, 2025, Cintrón was hired by the Texas Rangers to serve as the team's assistant hitting coach.