Roa was a second-round pick of the Reds in 2020. Cincinnati added him to its 40-man roster three years later to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. Roa struggled in Triple-A during the ’24 season. He suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in August without reaching the majors. The Reds tried to sneak him through waivers at the end of the year, but the Marlins stepped in with a claim.
Miami managed to get Roa through waivers a few weeks later. The 26-year-old spent most of the season with Triple-A Jacksonville. He had a nice year, working to a 2.60 earned run average while striking out 26.1% of batters he faced. Miami called him in recent weeks. Roa started his first two games in the big league and threw three scoreless innings. He struckout and walked three batters each. The Fish defeated him again at the end of the season, causing him to enter minor league free agency.
Roa has a four-seam fastball and sinker that each average about 96 MPH. He relies mainly on the heater and a slider from the 80s, making changes only sporadically. Roa gained experience early in his minor league career but has been a full-time bullpen arm for the past two seasons. His command never developed to a reasonable level to begin with. Last year’s 11.4% walk rate was still an issue, but marked a step up from his 14-17% from the previous three seasons.
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