Rays Recently Released Draft Pick Signing With NPB's Orix Buffaloes

The Orix Buffaloes of the Nippon Professional Baseball are adding a recently released Tampa Bay Rays draft pick.

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There are a few positions on the Tampa Bay Rays roster that they look to be set at for years to come. The corner infield would certainly qualify, where they have Junior Caminero entrenched as the starting third baseman and Jonathan Aranda locked in as the starting first baseman.

Given how early that duo is in their Major League careers, they aren’t going anywhere any time soon. Caminero and Aranda are long-term building blocks for a franchise that needs as much help offensively as they can get.

That is probably part of the reason that the Rays were so accommodating to first baseman Bob Seymour.

Bob Seymour heading to Asia to play

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A 13th-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft out of Wake Forest, Tampa Bay recently released him so that he could pursue opportunities overseas. It didn’t take long for him to find a new home, signing a deal with the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball, per Francys Romero.

Sources: Bob Seymour is in an agreement with the Orix Buffaloes in Nippon Professional Baseball.

Seymour, 27, debuted with the Rays in MLB in 2025 and hit 30 home runs with 87 RBI in Triple-A.

— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) November 15, 2025

Seymour received his first Big League opportunity in 2025, playing in 26 games and receiving 83 plate appearances. He had a .205/.253/.282 slash line with an underwhelming 50 OPS+.

What plagued him was major strikeout woes. He went down on strikes 32 times, coming out to a concerningly high 38.6% strikeout rate. He also failed to flash the immense power potential that he showcased in the minor leagues.

With Triple-A Durham this past campaign, Seymour launched 30 home runs and produced 87 RBI in only 105 games. But, in 443 plate appearances, he struck out a staggering 114 times.

That was actually an improvement from previous seasons in the strikeout department. In 2024, between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham, he went down via strikes in 30.6% of his plate appearances.

Bob Seymour has holes in his game to improve

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However, he did have a .281/.351/.523 slash line with 28 home runs. He had an impressive 139 wRC+ that year, with a 122 wRC+ in 2025.

The power potential is legitimate. However, there are holes in his game that currently limit his ceiling, namely his high strikeout rate. That has led to him never being a prominently ranked prospect.

But, by heading overseas, he will presumably have a chance at a bigger opportunity while playing for a larger paycheck.

Should he perform at a high level, there is certainly a chance he could return to play domestically in the MLB. If that were to happen, he would have a full slate of options, but a stint in Triple-A would likely be awaiting him.