Gianfranco Wawoe joins Southern Illinois Miners

Curaçao native Gianfranco Wawoe has signed a deal for the 2019 season with the independent Southern Illinois Miners (Frontier League). The 24-year old infielder announced this through his Facebook account and through Instagram.

According to his Facebook account, Wawoe thought about quitting baseball as he had not played the entire 2018 season. Last season, he signed a deal with the New Jersey Jackals of the independent CanAm League but somehow he never played with the team.

Gianfranco broke into professional baseball in 2011 with the VSL Mariners. After his seven-year MiLB contract expired in 2017, he wasn’t signed by any MLB club even though he hit a decent .270 with the A Advanced Modesto Nuts. In 2017, Gianfranco also played at AA (fourteen games with the Arkansas Travelers) and at AAA (two games with the Tacoma Rainiers). In 2015, 2016, 2017 he was also added to the Spring Training roster of the Mariners for whom he played six games in total.

Gianfranco also played for team Kingdom of the Netherlands during the 2015 Premier 12 tournament in Tokyo.