Puerto Rico’s Jose Sermo celebrates at second base after hitting a double. (Photo by Ricardo ARDUENGO / AFP) (Photo by RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP via Getty Images)
The Milwaukee Milkmen of the American Association acquired Puerto Rican infielder Jose Sermo, the league reported on April 3.
Sermo was acquired from the Generales de Durango organization in Liga Mexicana de Beisbol from a loan to join the Milwaukee Milkmen for the 2024 regular season.
Sermo is fourth in American Association history with 101 career homers and led the league with 28 home runs last season.
Sermo, 33, was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, and has played in 12 professional seasons in the minor leagues with the Milwaukee Brewers and Boston Red Sox, the independent leagues in the United States, Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente in Puerto Rico, and Liga Mexicana de Beisbol.
During the 2023-24 winter league season with the Gigantes de Carolina in LBPRC, he played in 19 games, batting .143 with 45 plate appearances, smacking six hits, three home runs, four RBI, three walks, and 23 strikeouts.
Last season, Sermo split time between the Cleburne Railroaders of the American Association and the Generales de Durango.
Serno played with the Cleburne Railroaders for two stints in 2023 after signing as a free agent with the Generales de Durango on July 5, 2023. He was shortly released on August 1, 2023, prior to his return to the Texas organization on August 2, 2023.
Sermo played in 79 games with Cleburne Railroaders and batted .273 with 355 plate appearances, ripping 82 hits, 17 doubles, one triple, 28 home runs, 77 RBI, ten stolen bases, 51 walks, 102 strikeouts, and a 1.000 OPS.
The Cleburne Railroaders won fourth place in the 2023 season with a record of 46-54. They were tied with the Lake Country Dockhounds and got into the playoffs due to their head-to-head record. The Cleburne Railroaders lost in the first round of the American Association in the best-of-three series in three games to the Chicago Dogs.
He played 20 games with the Generales de Durango, batting .246 with 79 plate appearances. He had 15 hits, four doubles, one home run, 11 RBI, 15 walks, and 21 strikeouts before he returned to the Cleburne Railroaders.
In the 2022-23 season with Gigantes de Carolina, Sermo batted .173 with 147 plate appearances, playing in 41 games with 22 hits, five doubles, one triple, five home runs, 15 RBI, 18 walks, and 48 strikeouts.
Sermo played 31 games in the 2022 season with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League. He batted .252 with 129 plate appearances, recording 26 hits, two doubles, four home runs, 14 RBI, 20 walks, and 34 strikeouts.
During his 12 professional seasons, Sermo played in 1,004 games, with a lifetime average of .260 and 4,093 plate appearances, recording 898 hits, 207 doubles, 29 triples, 161 home runs, 628 RBI, 114 stolen bases, 509 walks, 1,120 strikeouts, and a .834 OPS.
The Milwaukee Milkmen will play their first game of the 2024 American Association regular season against the Kansas City Monarchs at home on May 10 at 7:35 p.m. EST at Franklin Field in Franklin, Wisconsin.