Eduardo José Escobar (born January 5, 1989) is a Venezuelan professional baseball third baseman for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks and Milwaukee Brewers. Early life Escobar grew up in the neighborhood of La Pica in Palo Negro in the Venezuelan state of Aragua with his four siblings. They were raised by a single mother. Escobar began working a job at seven years old and was only able to get an education through the eighth grade. Professional career Chicago White Sox Escobar was a September call-up in 2011, playing in nine games and had two hits in seven at bats. In 2012, Escobar made the 25-man roster out of spring training as a utility infielder. In his first 97 plate appearances of 2012, Escobar had a .207 batting average with three runs batted in (RBIs). Minnesota Twins On July 28, 2012, Escobar was traded to the Minnesota Twins with Pedro Hernández for Francisco Liriano. In 49 more plate appearances, Escobar batted .227 with six RBIs. Overall in 2012, Escobar had 146 total plate appearances with a .214 average and nine RBIs. On April 3, 2013, Escobar hit a walk-off 2-run double off of Phil Coke that lifted the Twins past the Detroit Tigers, 3-2, to its first win of the 2013 season. On April 9, 2013, Escobar hit his first career home run in the top of the 5th inning off of Jeremy Guthrie of the Kansas City Royals. Playing 66 games in 2013, Escobar batted .236 with three home runs, and 10 RBIs. In 2014, Escobar batted .275 and hit six home runs with 37 RBIs in 133 games. In 2015, Escobar played 127 games batting .262 with 12 home runs and 58 RBIs. In 2016, Escobar played 105 games batting .236 with 6 home runs and 37 RBIs. On May 7, 2016, Escobar was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a left groin strain. He avoided salary arbitration with the Twins on December 3, 2016, by agreeing to a one-year, $2.6 million contract for the 2017 season. In 2017, Escobar batted .254 and set career highs with 21 home runs and 73 RBIs. Arizona Diamondbacks On July 27, 2018, Escobar was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor leaguers Gabriel Maciel, Jhoan Durán, and Ernie De La Trinidad. He