Korean baseball club Hanwha Eagles said Friday they've asked the league office to place former big leaguer pitcher Esmil Rogers on waivers in the aftermath of a fiasco surrounding his injury status.
Once the Korea Baseball Organization accepts the Eagles' request, it will put an end to a bizarre saga of Rogers' ailing elbow.
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(Yonhap) |
Rogers, who joined the Eagles last summer with 210 major league games under his belt, hasn't pitched since June 4 with an elbow injury. The Eagles had been preparing to make an announcement on Rogers' status, but the pitcher revealed through social media Friday that he would go under the knife. Responding to a fan's question on whether he would have surgery, Rogers wrote, "Sorry Bro im out im going To get surgery."
Sources close to the club said the Eagles, the worst team in the KBO this season, have been leaning toward waiving Rogers. The Dominican right-hander, the highest-paid foreign player in the KBO with a $1.9 million salary, has appeared in only six games this year, going 2-3 with a 4.30 ERA in 37 2/3 innings.
Rogers left the game against the Samsung Lions on June 4 with one out in the third, complaining of elbow pain. An MRI revealed inflammation, and Rogers at the time said it wasn't a major injury.
The Eagles told him they would give him plenty of time to recover. Manager Kim Sung-keun told Rogers he wanted to keep him in the rotation, saying he was pleased with Rogers' contribution last season and he expected more of the same in 2016.
According to sources, Rogers informed the Eagles earlier this month that he'd be better off getting surgery. Rogers was a second-half sensation for the Eagles last year. After replacing Shane Youman on Aug. 1, Rogers went 6-2 with a 2.97 ERA in 10 appearances, while throwing three complete game shutouts.
Rogers, who'd last played in the majors for the New York Yankees last year, parlayed his impressive run into that $1.9 million deal. Yet he experienced elbow pain at the start of spring training and didn't make any preseason appearance. Rogers was also left off the Opening Day roster and only made his season debut on May 8.
The KBO clubs are each allowed to have three foreign players on their active roster, with a maximum of two pitchers. On Monday the Eagles signed career minor leaguer Fabio Castillo after releasing Alex Maestri.
The Eagles are last in the 10-club KBO at 26-38-2 (wins-losses-ties). (Yonhap)
