Andre Martinas Lipcius (born May 22, 1998) is an American professional baseball infielder in the Chicago White Sox organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, for whom he made his debut in 2023.

Andre Lipcius
Lipcius with the Toledo Mud Hens in 2023
Chicago White Sox
Infielder
Born: (1998-05-22) May 22, 1998 (age 26)
Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 1, 2023, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.286
Home runs1
Runs batted in4
Teams

Career

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Amateur career

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Lipcius with Tennessee in 2019

Lipcius attended Lafayette High School in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he was a four-year letterman and a team captain. He committed to the University of Tennessee, where he played with his brother and fraternal twin, Luc, and majored in nuclear engineering.[1] As a freshman, he was named to the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman Team, as he started all 52 of the team's games at first base leading the team with 11 doubles.[2] He moved to shortstop as a sophomore and improved on nearly all his batting metrics, including jumping from one to seven home runs, and improving his average from .275 to .315.[2] In 2018, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and was named a league all-star.[3] He finished his career as a junior, starting all 61 games for the Volunteers at third base, and leading the team with 17 home runs to go with 58 RBIs, a .306 average, and a team-leading 72 hits.[2]

Detroit Tigers

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The Detroit Tigers selected Lipcius in the third round, 83rd overall, in the 2019 MLB draft and he was assigned to the Single-A West Michigan Whitecaps to start his career, where he hit .273 over 253 at bats, with an OBP of .344.[4] When the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the minor league season in 2020, Lipcius played with the Peninsula Pilots in the Coastal Plain League.[5]

In 2021, Lipcius started the season in West Michigan, now at the High-A level due to the shake-up in affiliates in the Tigers organization. On June 1, he received a call-up to the Double-A Erie SeaWolves.[6] At the time of his call-up, Lipcius led the Whitecaps in batting average at .277, had three home runs and 13 RBIs, and had 12 walks to 16 strikeouts, helping him to an OBP of .357 and an OPS of .839.[7] With the SeaWolves, he hit .235 in 94 games with nine homers and 46 RBI.[4] He split the 2022 season between Erie and the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens, batting a combined .277 with 12 homers and 63 RBI in 134 games.[4]

On November 15, 2022, the Tigers added Lipcius to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[8] He was optioned to the Toledo Mud Hens to begin the 2023 season,[9] where, in 97 games, he batted .272/.363/.419 with 11 home runs and 58 RBI.[4]

On September 1, Lipcius was promoted to the major leagues for the first time,[10] making his debut as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning against the Chicago White Sox.[11] His first major league hit was a home run off Mike Clevinger of the White Sox the following day.[12] In 13 games, he hit .286/.342/.400 with one home run and four RBI.[13] He was designated for assignment on February 29, 2024.[14]

Los Angeles Dodgers

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On March 4, 2024, Lipcius was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for cash considerations.[15] The Dodgers designated him for assignment on March 16.[16] Lipcius cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple–A Oklahoma City Baseball Club on March 23.[17] In 140 appearances, he batted .271 with 25 home runs and 89 RBI.[4] Lipcius was released by the Dodgers organization on December 16.[18]

Chicago White Sox

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On December 18, 2024, Lipcius signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox.[19]

References

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  1. ^ Paul, Tony. "Tigers' third-round pick Andre Lipcius is super smart, and now pretty darn wealthy, too". The Detroit News. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Andre Lipcius – Baseball". utsports.com. University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  3. ^ "#13 Andre Lipcius – Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Andre Lipcious College, Amateur and Minor League Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  5. ^ O'Brien, Marty (August 11, 2020). "Andre Lipcius and Vinnie Pasquantino lost their minor league season. The Peninsula Pilots helped give some of it back". pilotonline.com. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  6. ^ "Whitecaps' Andre Lipcius promoted to Double-A Erie". WZZM13. June 1, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  7. ^ "Whitecaps' Andre Lipcius promoted to Double-A Erie". WZZM13.com. June 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  8. ^ "Tigers add 5 youngsters to the roster; veteran reliever among those cut". MLive.com. November 15, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  9. ^ "Tigers' Andre Lipcius: Optioned to Triple-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  10. ^ "Tigers' Andre Lipcius: Recalled from Triple-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  11. ^ "Detroit Tigers vs Chicago White Sox Box Score: September 1, 2023". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  12. ^ Crawford, Kirkland (September 2, 2023). "Detroit Tigers' Andre Lipcius hits first MLB home run in just second game". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  13. ^ "Andre Lipcius Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
  14. ^ "Tigers Claim Buddy Kennedy, Designate Andre Lipcius". MLB Trade Rumors. February 29, 2024.
  15. ^ "Dodgers trade for Andre Lipcius; Clayton Kershaw to 60-day IL". ESPN.com. Associated Press. March 4, 2024. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  16. ^ "Dodgers Select Daniel Hudson". MLB Trade Rumors. March 16, 2024.
  17. ^ "Transactions". MLB.com.
  18. ^ https://www.milb.com/transactions/2024-12-16
  19. ^ "White Sox Sign Andre Lipcius To Minor League Deal". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
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