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Germano, Wing are latest headed to Japan

By john • Nov 28th, 2008 • Category: justin germano, minor leagues, ryan wing

I can’t remember an off season when so many big leaguers have been announced as heading to Japan as this one. Justin Germano and Ryan Wing are the two latest names announced to be heading across the Pacific.

Germano, a free agent, signed with the Softbank Hawks. The Hawks were the same team that acquired former Texas Ranger Kameron Loe.

After having ups and downs in 2007 Germano was quiet the disappointment for the Padres in 2008. Germano was removed from the rotation early on and finished the year 0-3 with a 5.98 ERA. To show you how far Germano has fallen it was Shawn Estes that originally replaced him in the rotation.

He’ll make roughly $500,000 in Japan which is pretty good for a pitcher who was 8-16 with a  5.27 ERA over parts of four big league seasons. He didn’t figure to get offered anything more then a Spring Training invite had he stayed in America.

In addition to Germano it has also been announced that the Nippon Ham Fighters  acquired Ryan Wing from the Oakland A’s.
Wing who was a second round draft pick of the Chicago White Sox in 2001 before shoulder problems shut him down had reemerged as a fine relief pitcher the last two seasons. The Oakland A’s signed him for the 2008 season and despite posting a 2.33 ERA over 54 innings at Triple-A he was never called up to play a role in the clubs bullpen.
It will be interesting to see how these guys perform overseas and whether they get offers from big league clubs next winter.

Ballhype: hype it up!

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