SAN PEDRO DE MACORÍS. — The Estrellas Orientales announced the signing of outfielder Raimel Tapia for a two-year contract, an agreement through which the club acquired the player’s rights before he became a restricted free agent starting next February 15, the management of the green team reported.
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Tapia, who will turn 32 years old next February 4th, comes from completing the best performance of his career in the Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League (LIDOM), in what was his fifth tournament in the circuit, after having debuted a decade ago, in the 2016 season. The left-handed batter topped the recently concluded Regular Season in hits (73), games played (50) and plate appearances (222). In addition, he finished second in batting average with .356, establishing himself as one of the most productive offensive players in the tournament. His 24 RBIs represented the third-highest total for the Stars, behind only Rodolfo Castro (26) and Miguel Sanó (25), and the sixth-best mark in the entire league, despite playing most of the time as the leadoff hitter in the lineup. Tapia also led the eastern team in runs scored (30) —third highest total in the championship—, as well as in doubles (12) and stolen bases (9). Selected by the Stars as their first pick in the 2014 Rookie Draft (second overall pick), the outfielder later participated in the Round Robin with the Leones del Escogido after being chosen in the Re-entry Draft. In that phase, he batted .353 in 16 games and 68 official at-bats. During the Final Series, Tapia participated in four games, recording a .250 average, before being limited by a hit by pitch received against a pitcher from the Toros del Este, a situation that forced him to miss a game. In the 22 games won by the Stars during the Regular Season, Tapia displayed an outstanding average of .419, driving in 13 of his 24 runs batted in and scoring 15 of his 30 runs, reaffirming his direct impact on the team’s victories.
