Stefen Romero was drafted in the 12th round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft by the Seattle Mariners in 2010. He became the Mariners Minor League Player of the Year in 2012. And in 2013, he was added to the 40-man roster of the Seattle Mariners.
He was actually one of the top prospect of Mariners from 2012-2014. But he struggled to play at a high level in the major league as he hit .192/.234/.299 with 190 plate appearances and three home runs.
Over the next two seasons, he had 43 plate appearances but didn't play well enough to earn big time minutes in majors. In his playing years in the Majors, he only recorded .195/.242/.307 hitter.
But Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, announced in his Twitter account that Romero signed a contract with the Orix Buffaloes of the Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. Romero will receive a seven-figure salary with his new team as further discussed by Rosenthal.
For Romero to sign with the Orix Boffaloes, the Mariners have to release him. And he will go to Japan with a career battling line of .299/.347/.514 with 61 home runs in his 1552 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, per MLB Trade Rumors.
In the Nippon Professional Baseball, he'll earn money. Because if he stays league, it will still be a long shot for him to make it to the 25-man roster. And if he do, he will only earn around $500,000. So playing for Orix Buffaloes is the best option for Romero for now. Aside from that, he can still get back into the major league if he played well with the Buffaloes as further discussed by MLB Trade Rumors.
The Orix Buffaloes formed in 2004 when the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture in Japan and Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefecture decided to merge. They began participating in the NPB in 2005 and split their home games between Kobe Sports Park Baseball Stadium and Osaka Dome, per Wikipedia.
Since the merger began, the team struggled to be competitive in the NPD. Is the signing of Stefen Romero the key for the Orix Buffaloes success?
