He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, and Atlanta Braves.

Lugo was born in the Dominican Republic and at age 13 moved to Sunset Park, Brooklyn, where he attended Fort Hamilton High School.

[6] Early that season, Lugo was promoted to the major-league Astros,[7] and made his MLB debut on April 15, 2000.

[9] In mid-August, Lugo's left arm was broken when he was hit by a pitch from Kerry Wood of the Chicago Cubs, ending his 2002 season.

[10] On April 30, 2003, Lugo was arrested after a game at Minute Maid Park and charged with assaulting his wife.

[13] In mid-July, he was acquitted of the assault charges after his then-wife (the couple had filed for divorce) testified that she had instigated the incident and he did not intend to hurt her.

[9] Lugo spent the first half of 2006 with the Devil Rays, playing in 73 games with 12 home runs, 27 RBIs, and a .308 average.

[16] Overall with Tampa Bay in parts of four seasons, Lugo had a .287 average with 40 home runs and 212 RBIs in 505 games.

[9] In the 2006 National League Division Series, Lugo batted 1-for-4 in two games as the Dodgers lost to the New York Mets.

[18] Lugo was brought on to bat leadoff, but was moved by manager Terry Francona to the bottom part of the order primarily due to his inability to consistently get on base.

[26] Six days later, Lugo injured his left quad running out a hit;[27] he was placed on the disabled list and missed the rest of the season.

[9] On March 17, 2009, Lugo underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee to repair a torn meniscus cartilage.

[29] He returned to the team in late April, batting .284 in 37 games through early July,[30][9] while committing seven errors.

[37] On January 21, 2012, Lugo agreed to a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians with an invitation to spring training.