Shawn Zarraga signs with Atlantic League team

Aruban catcher Shawn Zarraga has found a new club. After a long absence in professional baseball since his release by the Los Angeles at the start of the season, he finally signed a contract with a team. The Summerset Patriots of the Atlantic League will be his new club.

Since Zarraga has experience at AAA level baseball, the Atlantic League may be a good fit as experts say the level of the Atlantic League is similar to that of AAA baseball. Many former Major Leaguers that never had an extensive career in the bigs find their way to this league.

Zarraga used to be a regular at the roster of team Kingdom of the Netherlands. Shawn is a good defensive catcher who hardly commits errors and has a career percentage of 25% when it comes to throwing out base stealers.  His last stint in affiliated minor league baseball was in 2017 when he played six games for the Tulsa Drillers (AA Texas League) in which he batted .278.  His career stats at AAA is .236 and at AA .304.

The Summerset Patriots are currently in second place of the Liberty Division in the second half of the season. But since the club won the first half, they have clinched a spot in the playoffs already. The Patriots are the only charter member of the Atlantic League, that was founded in 1998. Since their inaugural season, the club has won six championships (2001, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2015).

The 29-year old Zarraga broke into professional baseball in 2008 with the Arizona League team of the Milwaukee Brewers. Eventually, in 2014, he reached AAA where he played seventeen games. In the next three years, he would join the Dodgers’ organization on one-year contracts.
After he was released by the Dodgers in 2017, he found a temporary home in the Cleburne RailRoaders. Temporary as his stint with that club of the (independent) American Association lasted only 41 games.