For the third time in franchise history, an Ottawa Titans player has had their contract purchased by a Major League Baseball (MLB) team.
The Titans announced earlier this week that the Seattle Mariners had acquired infielder Jo Oyama, with plans to assign him to the team’s affiliate in the Arizona Complex League.
Oyama, who has split time between second base, third base and shortstop during Frontier League action this season, was in the midst of his debut season with the Titans. Through 12 games, he has notched 12 hits, eight runs batted in, and posted a .273 batting average.
The diminutive 24-year-old is originally from Naha, Japan, but made the trip across the Pacific to play collegiate baseball at Merced College in California. He also later spent one season at the University of California, Irvine.
The Mariners are the second MLB squad to purchase a contract from the Titans roster, after the Toronto Blue Jays acquired Trevor Clifton and Evan Elliot over the past two years.
The move means Ottawa will be without a key player without the rest of the season. The Titans have struggled in recent weeks, having dropped nine of their last 12 games.
After beginning the season with five wins and five losses, the team’s overall record has dropped to 8-14, leaving them last in the Atlantic conference’s north division and outside the playoff picture.
Most recently, the Titans lost back-to-back games to the TriCity ValleyCats before dropping another to the Massachusetts-based Brockton Rox on Tuesday.
The Titans took the second game of the series by a score of 6-5 on Wednesday, largely thanks to a strong performance from designated hitter AJ Wright, who reached base in each of his five at-bats.
The two teams will meet again for the series’ final game on Thursday evening at Ottawa stadium.
The Titans’ homestand will also continue into the weekend, as they’re set to host the Sussex County Miners for another three-game series beginning on Friday.
Tickets for those games are still available, while the games can also be heard on the local radio station CKDJ 107.9.
