Minor MLB Transactions: 8/5/17
Saturday’s minor moves from around baseball:
- Former Mariners outfielder Stefen Romero has signed a contract extension to remain with the Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, MLBTR has learned. It’s a two-year, $5MM deal that comes with a third-year option for $4MM. Romero, a client of Beverly Hills Sports Council, signed with Orix last November and has slashed an outstanding .300/.349/.567 with 19 home runs in 258 plate appearances this season.
- Royals right-hander Andrew Edwards has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Double-A Northwest Arkansas, tweets Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com. The Royals designated Edwards for assignment last Sunday when they acquired outfielder Melky Cabrera from the White Sox. The 25-year-old Edwards has spent the majority of the season at Double-A and pitched to an 8.51 ERA, with 9.2 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9, over 24 1/3 innings at that level.
Stefen Romero To Sign With Japan’s Orix Buffaloes
Former Mariners outfielder Stefen Romero has agreed to terms with the Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter link). The Mariners announced last week that they were releasing Romero so that he could pursue an opportunity in Asia, and Rosenthal reports that he’ll receive a seven-figure guarantee with his new team.
Romero, 28, was one of the Mariners’ top prospects from 2012-14 but struggled quite a bit in his big league debut back in 2014, hitting just .192/.234/.299 with three homers in 190 plate appearances. He tallied another 43 plate appearances across the next two seasons but wasn’t able to do anything to further his case for big league playing time. All told, he’s a .195/.242/.307 hitter in the Majors. However, he’ll head to Japan with a career .299/.347/.514 batting line and 61 homers across 1552 plate appearances at the Triple-A level and will have the opportunity to earn considerably more overseas than he would have had he remained stateside.
Romero, who was out of minor league options and would’ve had to break camp with the big league club or be exposed to waivers, was a long shot to stick on the 25-man roster all season. And even if he did, he’d have earned a shade over $500K, so he’ll come out considerably ahead in this deal and still have the opportunity to return to the Majors later in his career if he performs well in NPB.
Minor MLB Transactions: 11/19/16
The latest minor moves from around the baseball world…
- The Giants signed southpaw Michael Roth to a minor league deal, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Twitter link). Roth has appeared in parts of three big league seasons with the Angels and Rangers, posting an 8.50 ERA over 36 career innings. He spent most of 2016 pitching for the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate, and he managed a strong 2.97 ERA over 145 1/3 innings, starting 23 of 28 games.
- The Giants have also signed infielder Juniel Querecuto to a minor league deal, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports via Twitter. The 24-year-old made his major league debut in 2016, appearing in four games with the Rays. Since being signed out of Venezuela and beginning his pro career at age 17, Querecuto has hit .253/.311/.319 over 2112 minor league plate appearances.
- Former Mets utilityman Eric Campbell will sign with the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball, according to reports out of Japan (hat tip to ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin). The Mets outrighted Campbell off their 40-man roster earlier this month and he elected to become a free agent. Campbell, who turns 30 in April, has a .622 OPS over 505 career plate appearances in the bigs, all as a member of the Mets from 2014-16. Most of Campbell’s playing time has been at third base, though he has also seen significant time at first and left field, as well as limited action as a shortstop, right fielder and second baseman.
- The Mariners announced that outfielder Stefen Romero has been released so that he can pursue an opportunity to play in Japan. Romero appeared in 72 games for Seattle in his 2014 rookie season but just 22 since, amassing a .195/.242/.307 career slash line over 233 plate appearances. A 12th-round pick for the M’s in the 2010 draft, Romero showed some promise in the minors, posting an .875 OPS and an even 100 homers over 2567 minor league PA.