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According to one report, Mariners relief pitcher Arquimedes Caminero is nearing a deal with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball:
Yomiuri Giants nearing deal with Arquimedes Caminero https://t.co/WqN6ngHttI
— Kazuto Yamazaki (@Kazuto_Yamazaki) December 10, 2016
The article is in Japanese, so you’re going to have to turn to good ol’ Google Translator to clearly rea–
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You know, I think we’ll just put total faith in Kazuto on this one.
If a deal is completed, the Mariners would be losing one of the harder throwers in the bullpen; Caminero’s fastball sits in the high-90s and will routinely hit triple-digits. Despite his ability to light up the radar gun, serious command issues and subpar secondary offerings have always held Caminero back. His control went completely haywire in 2016, when he posted a 4.90 BB/9 with Pittsburgh before getting shipped off to Seattle, where his walk-rate increased to 5.03 BB/9.
After taking on a large role in the bullpen when he initially came over to the Mariners, Caminero completely disappeared down the stetch, making just five appearances from the start of September onward. With there seemingly being no room in the bullpen for Caminero barring a sudden, late blooming, he may be seeking pastures greener than those of the minor leagues.
If this is the end of the road for Caminero and the Mariners, I guess this was pretty cool:
We’ll be updating this story if/when more information emerges.