Once upon a time Josh Fields was a first-round pick who twice cracked Baseball America‘s annual list of the top 100 prospects, but three teams and 796 plate appearances in the big leagues later he’s headed to Japan.
Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker reports that Fields has been released from the Rockies’ affiliate at Triple-A and signed with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan.
Fields was crushing Triple-A pitching with a .365 batting average and 1.103 OPS in 50 games, so presumably he requested the release and the Rockies obliged (or perhaps were compensated to oblige).
He played 13 games for the Royals last season, but spent most of his five-year career with the White Sox and hit .234 with 34 homers and a .724 OPS in 217 games, striking out 235 times compared to just 69 walks.