Former Big Leaguer Adonis Rosa Signed by Wild Things
WASHINGTON, Pa. (Feb. 17) - The Washington Wild Things have signed right hander Adonis Rosa to a deal for the 2022 season, making him the second former big leaguer to sign a contract with the organization. Rosa made his debut in the bigs with the New York Yankees August 13, 2019 against the Baltimore Orioles.
The two innings Rosa pitched in that game against Baltimore are the only two to this point for him in the bigs. He fanned two batters including the first batter he faced as a big leaguer before giving up a run in his second inning of work. In all, Rosa spent six seasons with the Yankees' organization between 2014 and 2019.
"[We're] very excited to add Adonis Rosa to our pitching staff. Anytime you can get a guy who has reached the big-league level you have greatly improved your ball club," said manager Tom Vaeth. "He was kind of a Swiss Army knife type guy with the Yankees that could pitch in any situation and was always incredibly durable. He is a true four-pitch mix guy with a reputation of being a consistent strike thrower that should be one of the top arms in our league."
His pro career started in 2014 after he signed as an international free agent late in 2013. He pitched for the Dominican Summer League Yankees in 2014 to the tune of a 1.62 ERA in 39 innings of work. He walked only five to 31 strikeouts.
He'd advance to rookie-ball in 2015 with Pulaski and went 7-2 with a 3.93 ERA in 11 games (all starts). In 2016, Rosa spent time between Charleston (SALL, A) and Staten Island (NYPL, A-). He posted a 2.19 ERA in 78 innings of work that season between the two clubs.
2017 saw Rosa bounce between three teams: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (IL, AAA), Tampa (FLOR, A+) and Charleston. He won eight games and struck out 102 batters in 111.2 innings of work. He pitched in 26 games and half of those were starts. He bounced a bit in 2018 as well, splitting time between Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Tampa and Trenton (EL, AA). He was 14-6 that season in 26 games (21 starts) over which he logged a career-best 128.1 innings and fanned 108 to just 36 walks.
Before reaching the bigs in 2019 he pitched in 13 games for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and 12 for Trenton. He was 9-1 in the minors that year with a 4.18 ERA over 25 games (13 starts).
He pitched in the Mexican League in 2021.
The Wild Things will kick off their 20th Frontier League season May 13 at home against the New York Boulders. The full schedule is available at washingtonwildthings.com. Check out the roster as it gets announced by clicking here.
