The latest minor moves from around the game:
- The Nexen Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization have signed former major league right-hander Esmil Rogers to a one-year, $1.5MM contract, according to Yonhap. Next season will be the third in Korea for Rogers, who pitched for the Hanwha Eagles from 2015-16. The 32-year-old spent 2017 with the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse and posted excellent numbers (3.18 ERA, 9.3 K/9 against 1.4 BB/9 and a 46 percent groundball rate) across 39 2/3 innings. A former Rockie, Blue Jay, Indian and Yankee, Rogers saw action in the majors from 2009-15 and pitched to a 5.59 ERA, with 7.65 K/9, 3.57 BB/9 and a 45.9 percent grounder rate, over 454 frames (210 appearances, 43 starts). In his most successful season, 2013, Rogers totaled a career-high 137 2/3 innings of 4.77 ERA ball with the Jays.
- SK Wyverns of the KBO have re-signed corner outfielder/infielder Jamie Romak and righty Merrill Kelly, per Yonhap. Contract details are unavailable for Romak, but Kelly’s pact is a one-year accord worth $1.4MM. Romak joined SK when the Padres sold his rights to the club in May, and the 32-year-old went on to slash .242/.344/.554 with 31 home runs in 416 plate appearances. A fourth-round pick of the Braves in 2003, Romak racked up a combined 39 PAs with the Dodgers and Diamondbacks from 2014-15. Kelly, meanwhile, has never played in the majors. Now 29, Kelly joined the Rays in 2010 as an eighth-rounder and lasted with the organization through the 2014 campaign, after which he hooked on with SK. During his three seasons with SK, Kelly has recorded a 3.80 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 over 571 1/3 innings in the hitter-friendly league.
