Philadelphia Phillies Minor leagues On May 20, 2008, Villar signed with the
Philadelphia Phillies as an international free agent. He made his professional debut with the
Dominican Summer League Phillies, hitting .271 with one home run, 21 RBI, and 27 stolen bases across 62 appearances. Villar split the 2009 campaign between the rookie-level
Gulf Coast League Phillies and Low-A
Williamsport Crosscutters. In 42 games split between the two affiliates, he slashed .263/.346/.353 with no home runs, 19 RBI, and 17 stolen bases. Villar began the 2010 campaign with the Single-A
Lakewood BlueClaws, playing in 100 games and batting .272/.332/.359 with two home runs, 36 RBI, and 38 stolen bases.
Houston Astros On July 29, 2010, the Phillies traded Villar,
J. A. Happ, and
Anthony Gose to the
Houston Astros in exchange for
Roy Oswalt. Villar was named the 94th best prospect in baseball by
Baseball America prior to the 2011 season. He was invited to Astros'
spring training in 2012. Villar played for the
Oklahoma City RedHawks in 2013, and was named the Astros' minor league hitter of the month for June 2013.
Major leagues On July 21, 2013, the Astros promoted Villar to the major leagues. On July 30, Villar stole home against the
Baltimore Orioles. His strong finish to 2013 made him the team's Opening Day starter in 2014, but struggled offensively in 2014 as well as 2015. Nevertheless, he was named to the Astros' roster for the
2015 American League Wild Card Game. In the seventh inning, he pinch-ran for
Chris Carter, stole second base, and scored on a single by
Jose Altuve to make the score 3–0, which ended up being the final score of the game.
Milwaukee Brewers The Astros traded Villar to the
Milwaukee Brewers for
Cy Sneed on November 19, 2015. Villar impressed Brewers manager
Craig Counsell in Spring Training, and became the Brewers' Opening Day shortstop. Villar played very well for the first half of the season despite the team's struggles, posting a .298 batting average, 6 home runs and a league-leading 19 stolen bases before the All-Star Break. After top prospect
Orlando Arcia was promoted to the Majors, Villar was moved to third base. He finished the year with 62 stolen bases, leading the league, four more than
Billy Hamilton of the
Cincinnati Reds, along with a .285 average, 62 RBIs, and 19 home runs. He led the National League in
power-speed number (29.1). After the acquisition of
third baseman Travis Shaw, the Brewers announced that Villar would shift to second base. Villar struggled for most of 2017, and lost his starting job at second base after the Brewers traded for
Neil Walker. With
Keon Broxton struggling, Villar began to get regular starts in
center field. Defensive struggles and the emergence of rookie outfielder
Brett Phillips resulted in Villar once again returning to a bench role.
Baltimore Orioles At the
trade deadline on July 31, 2018, Villar, along with minor leaguers
Luis Ortiz and Jean Carmona, was sent to the
Baltimore Orioles by the Brewers who acquired
Jonathan Schoop for
its postseason run. Villar was activated on August 2 and played his first game with the Orioles later that night. He collected two hits and scored a run in his Orioles debut. He collected three hits the next night, including his first RBI with the O's. Two nights later, he would collect three more hits in three at-bats, including a double, home run, one RBI, a walk and three runs scored. In 54 games, Villar hit .258/.336/.392 with eight home runs and led the Orioles with 21 stolen bases. Villar became the fifth Oriole to
hit for the cycle in a 9–6
home loss to the
New York Yankees on August 5, 2019. He hit a
triple and a
double in the third and fifth innings respectively off
Masahiro Tanaka, a two-run
homer in the sixth off
Tommy Kahnle that had tied the game at 6–6 and a
single in the ninth off
Aroldis Chapman. His one-out three-run homer off
Caleb Ferguson in the seventh inning of an Orioles' 7–3 home victory over the
Los Angeles Dodgers on September 11 was the 6,106th of 2019 and established a new major league record for most total
home runs in a season, surpassing the 6,105 set two years earlier in 2017. He was the first MLB player with at least 24 home runs and 40 stolen bases in the same season since
Carlos Gómez in
2013. Along with
Starlin Castro,
Whit Merrifield,
Marcus Semien and
Jorge Soler, he was one of only five players to appear in all 162 games in 2019.
Miami Marlins On December 2, 2019, Villar was traded to the
Miami Marlins in exchange for
Easton Lucas. With the
Marlins in 2020, Villar batted .259 with two home runs and nine RBI in 30 games.
Toronto Blue Jays On August 31, 2020, Villar was traded to the
Toronto Blue Jays for
Griffin Conine. On September 1, he made his Blue Jays debut. Overall with the
2020 Blue Jays, Villar batted .188 with no home run and six RBI in 22 games. After the 2020 season, he played for Dominican Republic in the
2021 Caribbean Series.
New York Mets On February 11, 2021, Villar signed a one-year, $3.55 million contract with the
New York Mets. Villar hit his first spring training home run as a Met on March 7, off of
Miami Marlins pitcher
Yimi García. He would go on to bat .249/.322/.416 with 18 home runs, 42 RBI, and 14 stolen bases in 142 games for the Mets. Villar elected for free agency following the season.
Chicago Cubs On March 19, 2022, Villar signed a one-year, $6 million contract with the
Chicago Cubs. On June 24, Villar was
designated for assignment. On June 29, Villar was released by the Cubs.
Los Angeles Angels On July 2, 2022, Villar signed a one-year contract with the
Los Angeles Angels. On July 24, Villar was designated for assignment for the second time that season. In 13 games with the Angels, Villar batted .163/.226/.224 with one home run and three RBI. He cleared waivers and elected free agency on July 29.
Seattle Mariners On August 1, 2022, Villar signed a minor league contract with the
Seattle Mariners. In 37 games for the Triple–A
Tacoma Rainiers, he hit .283/.329/.497 with 6 home runs, 24 RBI, and 10 stolen bases. Villar elected free agency following the season on November 10.
Algodoneros de Unión Laguna On April 19, 2023, Villar signed with the
Algodoneros de Unión Laguna of the
Mexican League. In 85 games for Unión Laguna, he hit .346/.410/.508 with 11 home runs, 72 RBI, and 22 stolen bases. Villar made 84 appearances for the Algodoneros in 2024 his second season with them, batting .325/.400/.417 with three home runs, 39 RBI, and 24 stolen bases. Villar made 75 appearances for Unión Laguna during the 2025 campaign his third season with the team, hitting .258/.339/.351 with four home runs, 26 RBI, and 22 stolen bases.
Caliente de Durango On October 10, 2025, Villar and Néstor Anguamea were traded to the
Caliente de Durango of the
Mexican League in exchange for Guadalupe Chávez. ==See also==