MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Jaimes chooses Rangers over Rainbows
Matt Jaimes, the lone Hawaii recruit selected in Major League Baseball's First-Year Player draft last week, has signed with the Texas Rangers.
Jaimes, picked as a third baseman in the 12th round out of Chino (Calif.) High School after hitting .500 and posting a 10-1 record on the mound, was projected to be an outfielder and pitcher for UH.
"Matt called me and said he signed and we wish him well. It is his decision and we look forward to following him," Rainbow coach Mike Trapasso said.
Whether UH tries to recruit another player is up in the air.
"We kind of have to wait and see what happens scholarship-wise," Trapasso said. "We're pretty close to our limit We'll see how things work out in a couple of weeks. We are actively pursuing another catcher more so than any other position."
Patrick McGuigan (Mid-Pacific, University of San Francisco) and the Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to contract terms.
"More than the contract, it is an opportunity to keep playing at the next level," said McGuigan from Atlanta on his way to mini-camp in Dunedin, Fla.
Selected in the 27th round, the right-hander will be in camp today and tomorrow, then expects to be assigned to Pulaski (Va.) in the advanced rookie Appalachian League.
"We'll see how it goes and I hope to get moved up from there," said McGuigan, who will sign when he gets to Florida.
Matt Inouye, selected in the 21st round by the Chicago White Sox, also is headed to the Appalachian League.
"I received all the paperwork with the rules and regulations and it says I'm going to Bristol (Va.)," Inouye said. "I report to Arizona first for my physical."
The White Sox spring training site is in Tucson.
Inouye (MPI, UH) has spent the time since being drafted working out.
"I've just been running and trying to get my legs in shape to catch nine innings," he said.
Kanekoa Texeira is the third player from Hawaii to start his pro career in the Appalachian League.
"I signed Saturday and report to Bristol on the 19th," said Texeira, a right-hander from Kamehameha and Saddleback College. "I feel great. I feel relieved. All the hard work paid off, but now it gets even harder."
Inouye and Texeira are the first Hawaii players drafted by the White Sox in the summer draft.