The Arizona Diamondbacks continued roster shuffling this week by releasing outfielder Jamie Romak. This occurred on the same day the D-backs dealt Minor League outfielder Daniel Palka to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for catcher Chris Herrmann. The 30-year old Romak was signed by the Snakes on November 21st, 2014 after he was given his release by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Arizona represented the sixth organizational stop for Romak after he was taken in the fourth round of the 2003 Draft by the Atlanta Braves. He has also kicked around the organizations of the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals.
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The right-hand-hitting Romak delivered five hits in 16 plate appearances for the D-backs, including two doubles and an RBI. In his final two at-bats for the Snakes, he delivered a pair of pinch-hit singles. He enjoyed a huge season for Triple A Reno as he led the Pacific Coast League in home runs with 27 and finished third in RBI’s with 100, seven behind teammate Peter O’Brien. He was selected as a PCL All-Star and participated in the league’s Home Run Derby during All-Star Week festivities. Both Romak and O’Brien were named to the PCL All-League team with Romak being chosen as the designated hitter.
Baseball is filled with guys like Romak who are clearly the best players at the Triple A level but can’t seem to stick in the Majors. Though he was drafted in 2003, he did not make his Major League debut until 2014 while with the Dodgers. He has exactly 200 home runs in 13 Minor League seasons with a .344 on-base percentage. To be fair, the D-backs were loaded in the outfield so it was very difficult to find adequate playing time for Romak in Arizona. Given the youth of the players there, it was clear that he was not going to be a part of the team’s future. In his brief sample size, Romak was productive. Perhaps this will cause another team that may not match the Snakes’ depth in the outfield to give him a longer look and perhaps a spot out of Spring Training.
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We wish Jamie Romak the best of luck as he continues his quest to stick with a Major League team. If he doesn’t get a nibble from the other organizations around the game, perhaps Arizona came bring him back into the fold.