Red Sox Memories: What happened to these four former players?
By Rick McNair
Daniel Nava
Every player that has been dumped from an organization and eventually attempts to hold on to a career in the Independent Leagues must have a picture of switch-hitting Daniel Nava in their locker. The well-documented rise and fall and rise and fall again of Nava is part of Red Sox and baseball lore.
Nava broke on the scene in 2010 with a dramatic grand slam off Joe Blanton at Fenway Park on the first MLB pitch he saw. Nava resurfaced with Boston after a year in the minors and became a key to the 2013 championship team, hitting .303. Then the journey started with multiple organizations before culminating with a .301 season with the Phillies in 2017. Nava, however, was not done.
Nava signed with the Pirates and was released after back surgery and signed to a minor league deal. At the end of the 2018 season, Nava was once again jettisoned from an MLB roster, but still not out of baseball.
He returned to the Indy leagues with the Kansas City T-Bones in 2019, joining Henry Owens and Danny Mars to represent a trio of former Boston organization players. Nava hit .288 for KC and as of now has not retired and probably will not.