The Orix Buffaloes on Monday announced the signing of Venezuelan outfielder Johermyn Chavez and named his compatriot and former Yomiuri Giants and Tokyo Yakult Swallows star Alex Ramirez as roving advisor.
The 26-year-old Chavez was hitting .301 with four home runs and 24 RBIs this season for the Gunma Diamond Pegasus of the independent BC League.
His deal, which runs to the end of the season, is worth ¥5 million. Chavez will work his way up from the Buffaloes' farm team.
The 40-year-old Ramirez, who is the senior director at Gunma, had more than 2,000 hits for his career and won the CL home run title twice. He will work five to seven days per month with Orix, advising the players based on his experience.
"(Ramirez) will be a huge help to (Francisco) Caraballo, who looks up to him as his mentor," said the Buffaloes' head of baseball operations, Ryuzo Setoyama.
"Ramirez also played with (Tony) Blanco at DeNA, too. It'll be great if he can offer some pointers to the Japanese players as well."
