30-year-old Willians Astudillo was born on October 14, 1991, and nicknamed “La Tortuga”, is a Venezuelan professional baseball utility player for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Minnesota Twins in 2018 and has appeared at every position except shortstop in a major league game.
Astudillo signed his first professional baseball contract with the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent on December 15, 2008. In 2009, Astudillo made his professional debut for the VSL Phillies, and spent the following season with the team as well, hitting .250 and .312, respectively.
He improved his performance for the team in 2011, slashing .361/.424/.449 in 52 games. He spent the 2012 season with the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Phillies, hitting .318/.327/.419 in 45 contests.
Astudillo did not play in a game in 2013, and spent the 2014 season with the Single-A Lakewood BlueClaws, posting a slash line of .333/.366/.434 in 117 games. In 2015, he played for the High-A Clearwater Threshers, slashing .314/.348/.384 with 3 home runs and 49 RBI in 107 games. He elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2015.
On July 3, 2020, it was announced that Astudillo had tested positive for COVID-19. Astudillo appeared in just 8 games in 2020, gathering only 16 at-bats and batting .250/.250/.500 with 1 home run and 3 RBI.
After the 2020 season, he played for Caribes de Anzoátegui of the Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVMP). He also played for Venezuela in the 2021 Caribbean Series.
On March 13, 2022, Astudillo signed a minor league contract with the Miami Marlins. He began the 2022 season with the Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.