Alejandro De Aza Baseball Card History and Values
Alejandro De Aza had a 10-year career in Major League Baseball from 2008-2017, playing for the Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, and Miami Marlins. While he was never an All-Star or award winner, De Aza established himself as a solid outfielder and hitter who could provide value to a team. He had some productive seasons that make his baseball cards worth taking a look at for collectors. Let’s take an in-depth look at De Aza’s career and the baseball cards issued during his playing days.
De Aza was signed by the White Sox as an amateur free agent in 2002 out of Venezuela. He slowly worked his way up through Chicago’s farm system, making his MLB debut in 2008 at age 26. De Aza’s rookie cards from 2008 Topps and Upper Deck are some of his most common issues. The Topps card can be found for under $1 in near mint condition, while the Upper Deck RC sells for around $3-4. As a rookie, De Aza only played in 26 games and had 58 plate appearances, so these cards did not gain much value over the years.
In 2009, De Aza received more playing time with the White Sox and responded with the best season of his career to date. In 109 games, he hit .296 with 12 home runs, 47 RBI, and 15 stolen bases. He established himself as a regular in the Chicago outfield and leadoff hitter. De Aza’s 2009 Topps and Upper Deck base cards from this breakout season can be acquired for $2-3 in near mint condition. The Topps Chrome and Finest refractors from that year have modest values of $5-8.
De Aza continued to be a solid contributor for the White Sox over the next two seasons from 2010-2011. He averaged around 100 games, 15 stolen bases, and an .800 OPS each year. His production dipped a bit and he began to lose playing time. As a result, his common issue cards from 2010-2011 Topps, Upper Deck, and other brands have very low values of $1-2.
Prior to the 2012 season, the White Sox traded De Aza to the Baltimore Orioles. He became a valuable fourth outfielder/platoon player for the O’s over the next two and a half seasons. De Aza’s 2012 Topps and other base cards from his time in Baltimore are only worth $1-3 due to limited playing time. Collectors seem to enjoy his 2012 Topps Mini card, which features a fun close-up photo. Those can be found for $5-8.
De Aza had his best season as an Oriole in 2013. In a career-high 130 games, he hit .262 with 9 home runs, 44 RBI, and 15 stolen bases. He proved himself a capable starter when given the opportunity. De Aza’s 2013 Topps and other base cards from that solid campaign are valued around $3-5. The Topps Mini and Topps Chrome parallels from ’13 hold slightly higher values of $7-10.
After the 2013 season, De Aza was traded again, this time to the Chicago Cubs. He spent the 2014 season platooning between the Cubs and their Triple-A affiliate. This resulted in very limited production and playing time. Not surprisingly, De Aza’s 2014 Cubs cards are only worth $1-2 at most. He was released after the season.
De Aza caught on with the Miami Marlins in 2015 and had a nice bounce back year. Starting regularly in left field, he hit .276 with 9 home runs and 49 RBI in 129 games. Collectors seem to enjoy De Aza’s Marlins cards the most out of his later career issues. His 2015 Topps and other Marlins base cards can be acquired for $3-5. Parallel versions like Topps Chrome hold values around $7-10.
De Aza spent the 2016-2017 seasons splitting time between the Marlins and their Triple-A club. He totaled only 76 MLB games over those two years combined. As a result, his late career 2016-2017 cards from Miami have very low values of $1-2. De Aza announced his retirement after the 2017 season at age 36, wrapping up a decade-long MLB tenure.
While Alejandro De Aza was never a superstar, he had some productive seasons that make his baseball cards worth looking at, especially for budget-minded collectors. His best cards to acquire are likely his 2009 breakout season issues with the White Sox or his 2015 solid campaign with the Marlins. Later career and rookie year cards have understandably lower values. With solid performances that provided value to several teams, De Aza deserves recognition from baseball card collectors and fans.
