KANSAS CITY, Kan.– The Kansas City T-Bones announced today that the club has signed infielder Shawn O’Malley for the 2019 season.

Shawn O’Malley brings a career resume of 13 years of professional experience to KCK, including part of three seasons in the Major Leagues. O’Malley spent the 2018 season playing with the Albuquerque Isotopes the Colorado Rockies AAA club in the Pacific Coast League. O’Malley was limited to 55 games because of a broken hand he suffered during spring training with the Rockies as a non-roster invitee trying to make the club as a utility player. O’Malley suffered the injury on March 2, 2018 in the third inning of a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks while fielding a ball at second base and landing in an awkward fashion.  

O’Malley, a switch hitter, would hit .279 with one home run and 16 RBIs last season. At AAA, O’Malley would work with former T-Bones Manager Tim Doherty who was the Isotopes hitting coach in 2018. The Albuquerque roster also featured former T-Bones Anthony Phillips and Brad Holman during parts of the season. O’Malley played 19 games at second base, four at short and 19 in the outfield last season. Following the 2018 season with the Rockies organization, the native of Washington State elected free agency.

O’Malley spent three seasons with the Seattle Mariners organization after being signed in 2015 and invited to Major League spring training that season. His 2017 season was limited to 33 games between three different minor league stops because of injuries. He was slowed part of the season with a shoulder injury and also missed time owing to an appendectomy. In 20 games at AAA Tacoma, he hit .205 with a homer and five RBIs. O’Malley also would spend time at AA Arkansas in the Texas League and Rookie Level Arizona in a pair of rehabilitation stints during the 2017 season.

2016 saw O’Malley begin the season at AAA Tacoma where he hit .317 in 25 games with 13 RBIs, adding a home run and stealing five bases in six attempts. The Mariners would summon O’Malley to the Big Leagues on May 13 where he would spend the rest of the season. In 89 games, O’Malley hit .229 with two home runs and 17 RBIs for the “big club” while contributing at six different positions in the field.

O’Malley spent most of his 2015 season at AAA Tacoma where he would hit .297 with five long balls and 39 RBIs for the Rainer’s in 89 games. He would finish second on the club in stolen bases, swiping 20 bags. Seattle would call up O’Malley in September where he would play in 24 games hitting .262 with one home run and seven runs knocked in.

In 2014 O’Malley spent one season with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, spending the majority of the season at AAA after signing a minor league deal with an invite to Major League spring training on December 18, 2013. He would start the season at AA Arkansas in the Texas League, but the stay was a short one, just 11 games before heading to AAA.  In 89 games at AAA Salt Lake City, O’Malley hit .330, good for second on the club, with three home runs and 38 RBIs, adding 13 stolen bases and being named to the Pacific Coast League All-Star Team. O’Malley was once again a September call up and made his major league debut on September 7, 2014, when he pinch-hit for Albert Pujols, reaching on an infield single and driving in a run.

O’Malley spent the first eight years of his career with the Tampa Bay Rays organization. Tampa Bay made him their fifth-round pick in the 2006 Major League Draft (139th overall) out of Southridge High School in Kennewick, Washington. O’Malley would climb all the way to AAA in his time in the Rays system. In 2013 he would spend the entire season at AA Montgomery in the Southern League, hitting .262 in 91 games with three home runs and 32 RBIs while playing 89 games at short. He would team up in the middle of the infield for the last part of the season with 2018 T-Bone Ryan Brett, who was part of the Biscuits club that season.

The 2012 campaign saw O’Malley split time between AAA Durham of the International League and AA Montgomery. He would open the season with the AAA Bulls, hitting at a .245 clip in 67 games with two homers, 18 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. He would be sent down to AA Montgomery on July 22 where he would drive in five runs in 35 games while hitting .231. In his 2011 season, O’Malley hit .276 in 79 games at AA Montgomery with one home run and 23 RBIs.

In 2010 O’Malley saw time with three different clubs. He would hit a combined .209 in 54 games across three stops, beginning at AA Montgomery where he played 44 games, hitting .181 with seven RBIs. He would have a short two-game rehab stint with the Rays rookie level club in the Gulf Coast League, and he also saw eight games at high A Charlotte in the Florida State League.  

O’Malley was sent to the Arizona Fall League following the 2009 season by the Rays. In 20 games he went 20-for-64 with a .313 average while in Phoenix. During the regular season with the Rays organization, O’Malley hit .268 at high A Charlotte in the Florida State League, stealing 40 bases with one home run and 27 RBIs. His 40 stolen bases led the Stone Crabs and was fourth most in the circuit in 2009. He would spend all of 2008 with low A Columbus in the South Atlantic League, hitting at a .237 clip with 23 RBIs and 28 stolen bases--second highest for the team.

O’Malley would spend his first two seasons at short-season A ball. In 2007 he hit .237 in 48 games at Hudson Valley in the New-York Penn League where he had 10 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. In his first season he would play 50 games at rookie level Princeton in the Appalachian League and hit .213 with one home run and 10 RBIs while adding another 10 stolen bases.

In 124 Major League games, O’Malley has three home runs and 25 RBIs with 11 stolen bases, all while playing five different positions. He has played second, short and third base while seeing action in all three outfield spots. Over his

13-year career, he has played shortstop at some point during the season in a total of 538 games. O’Malley has played another 283 games at second base, the second most games he has played defensively. He has played in 135 games in the outfield and another 28 at third base.

At the plate in 1070 professional games, O’Malley has a .262 career batting average with 25 home runs, another 316 RBIs, 581 runs and 228 stolen bases, only being caught 75 times.  While O’Malley grew up in the Tri Cities of Washington State, he now resides in Overland Park, Kansas.

Full and half-season 2019 ticket packages, as well as mini plans, are on sale now online or by calling (913) 328-5618 or by visiting the T-Bones Stadium offices. Group ticket sales are also on sale now. Wyandotte County residents will be able to purchase individual game tickets beginning Tuesday, March 19th at 10:00am and the General Public on Thursday, March 21^st. Opening day for the T-Bones is set for Friday May 17th at T-Bones Stadium when the T-Bones host the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks to open the 2019 season.

For additional information or interview requests, members of the media may contact the T-Bones Media Relations Department at (817) 739-3693. Stay tuned to www.tbonesbaseball.com. and the T-Bones Facebook and Twitter pages for updates throughout the season.

#FUNWELLDONE#