Former Long Beach State Standout, Cubs Farmhand Added, Bloom Released
WASHINGTON, Pa. (July 27) - Today the Wild Things announced the acquisition of Ramsey Romano, an infielder who played most recently for the Eugene Emeralds (Chicago Cubs organization - Short Season A) in the Northwest League. In a corresponding move to the signing, right-handed pitcher Taylor Bloom was released.
Romano was drafted in the 35th round of the 2013 MLB Amateur Draft by the Cubs before deciding to head to the University of Michigan, where he played in 2014. Romano started 24 games as a freshman with the Wolverines, hitting .244 with a pair of doubles, eight runs and four RBI.
He departed Michigan and played two seasons at Yavapai College, where his team won the 2016 Junior College National Championship, with the Roughriders finishing the season with a 49-20 record. Romano was named 1st Team All-ACCAC and 1st Team All-NJCAA as a sophomore as he hit .410 and had nine home runs, 22 doubles and 53 RBI in 61 games played. He recorded 31 multi-hit games that season.
At Long Beach State in 2017, the San Diego, California, native hit .313 with 11 doubles, two home runs and 39 RBI. He was then drafted in the 31st round by the Cubs in 2017's draft, and was with the Cubs for 2017 and the first part of the 2018 season, before being released.
"Ramsey is going to add versatility and experience to the depth of our infield," said assistant general manager of baseball operations Tony Buccilli. "Despite the limited opportunity the Cubs provided him, he comes from some strong college programs and we believe there is more to his game. We know he is excited to get back in the grind and we look forward to seeing how he fits in."
A two-sport athlete at Valhalla High School, Romano recorded a .314 career batting average with 124 hits, 72 runs scored and 41 RBI in 127 career games with the Norsemen. He hit .333 as a junior and .356 as a senior, and also pitched. He was named 1st Team All-East County and the team's MVP in both of his final two seasons, and was honored as 1st Team All-CIF and 1st-Team All-Grossmont Hills League as a senior. He also played quarterback at Valhalla, and was All-State, throwing for 3,415 yards and 34 touchdowns as a senior with nine rushing touchdowns to go along with it. Romano played a spring season in 2015 under Jim Harbaugh at Michigan, but decided to continue towards a future in baseball.
Taylor Bloom was released by Washington, as he was 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in four games.
Romano is active and available for tonight's game at Traverse City, which is set to get underway at 7:05 p.m.
