The Baltimore Orioles have acquired minor league pitcher Franderlyn Romero from the Reds in exchange for two international signing bonus slots.
Just hours after trading Brian Matusz to the Atlanta Braves, the Baltimore Orioles have stayed busy. They have added another pitcher to their minor league system, acquiring right handed pitcher Franderlyn Romero from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for two International Signing Bonus slots, according to MASN’s Roch Kubatko.
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Why give up two international signing bonus slots for him? First of all, the Orioles haven’t exactly cared about international signings under Dan Duquette. In fact, they haven’t done so for a while. Jonathan Schoop is arguably their biggest one of the past ten years. He’s quite good, but when Dariel Alvarez is arguably your second best one of the past ten years, that’s a bit telling.
Secondly, Romero is a very intriguing prospect. He’s a high-end arm, something that the Baltimore Orioles don’t have too many of. While he has never pitched above single A ball, it seems that perhaps he has turned a corner in 2016.
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In 47 innings, he has 42 strikeouts with eight walks and a 2.87 ERA. Romero forces a lot of ground balls and is sort of a lottery ticket. If he can pan out, the Orioles will have a heck of a bargain.
Romero will most likely report to Frederick and could move up to Bowie relatively soon. He flirted with a no-hitter earlier this season and has been very good this year in single A. The Orioles rarely use international signing bonus slots anyway. So they have decided to use them on a lottery ticket – one that could be productive for them down the road.