Cleveland Indians Trade J.C. Romero to Baltimore Orioles for Carlos Rojas

Cleveland Indians Trade J.C. Romero to Baltimore Orioles for Carlos Rojas

The Cleveland Indians have traded veteran reliever J.C. Romero to the Baltimore Orioles, in exchange for infielder Carlos Rojas. Here's the scoop on Rojas, such as it is.

Carlos R. Rojas was signed by the Chicago Cubs as a free agent out of Venezuela in 2001. He's been in the Orioles system since 2008, playing for Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk but never appearing in the major leagues. In 715 career at-bats in Triple-A, he's hit .215/.275/.252 (not a typo) and is a career .224/.293/.260 hitter.

Rojas is a terrible hitter and, at age 28, not likely to improve. He will actually draw a few walks at times, but has no power at all and doesn't steal bases. He stays employed in the high minors due to his glovework: he's very impressive at shortstop, and can handle second and third base just fine.

In the old days, a guy like this could find work on a major league bench as a defensive sub, but that's not the case in the era of 14-man pitching staffs.