Romanski returns to Goldeyes lineup

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This article was published 30/01/2019 (2641 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Goldeyes are bringing another big bat back to town.

Josh Romanski re-signed with the baseball club on Wednesday, giving what they hope will be a powerful one-two punch at the plate and in the outfield to go along with returning veteran Reggie Abercrombie.

Romanski, 32, played a big role in leading the Goldeyes to back-to-back American Association titles in 2016 and 2017. After being named the league’s player of the year in 2017, Romanski signed in the Mexican League to start the 2018 season.

It’s no coincidence the Goldeyes got off to a terrible start and were never able to recover, even when Romanski left Mexico and rejoined the Goldeyes in June. He certainly did his part, finishing 14th in the league in batting with a .314 average while belting four home runs and driving in 30 runs in 69 games. He also walked more times than he struck out (28 to 27), which is a rare feat.

Abercrombie, the all-time home run and RBI leader in the league, announced his plans last week to return to the Goldeyes for a sixth season. He was named Winnipeg’s MVP in 2018.

Like Abercrombie, Romanski also considered stepping away from the game this winter but has opted to stick with it for at least one more season.

Romanski began his career as a pitcher, working his way up to Triple-A in the New York Yankees organization before converting to a full-time outfielder in 2014. He’s a career .308 hitter and a reliable run-producer, with 245 RBIs in 385 games. He drove in 81 during the 2017 season with the Goldeyes, along with 11 home runs and a .324 average.

Winnipeg now has 14 players under contract, including six from last year’s squad. Joining Romanski and Abercrombie are starting pitchers Kevin McGovern and Mitch Lambson, and relief pitchers Jack Charleston and Brandon Bingel.

The Goldeyes made three other moves this week, signing shortstop Adrian Marin, who played last year in the Baltimore Orioles organization at both Double-A and Triple-A. He had just four errors in 62 games.

Rookie pitchers Devin Raftery and Mitchell Aker were also added to the roster. Raftery comes from the Lincoln Saltdogs in a trade with pitcher Brennan Bernardino going the other way. He had a impressive 1.22 ERA in 44.1 innings last year in the Frontier League.

Aker was obtained from Evansville of the Frontier League in exchange for pitcher P.J. Browne. He finished third in that league last season with 19 saves and also made the all-star team.

Spring training begins May 4, while the team’s 100-game regular-season schedule kicks off May 16.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg