Headlines

  • Giants, Scott Kazmir Agree To Minor League Deal
  • Yankees Sign Justin Wilson
  • Braves Sign Jake Lamb
  • Athletics Sign Mitch Moreland
  • Yankees Re-Sign Brett Gardner
  • Giants To Sign Jake McGee
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Indians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2020-21 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2021
    • 2021 MLB Arbitration Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • Last 100 Comments
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Cuban Slugger Alfredo Despaigne Signs In Japan

By Steve Adams | July 15, 2014 at 8:12am CDT

The Chiba Lotte Marine of Nippon Professional Baseball announced that they have signed Cuban slugger Alfredo Despaigne (via Japanese media outlet Sanspo). Like fellow Cuban stars Yulieski Gourriel and Frederich Cepeda before him, Despaigne has agreed to play in Japan with his country’s permission, under the condition that he returns to Cuba at the conclusion of the NPB season (which concludes prior to the onset of Cuba’s Serie Nacional), writes Baseball America’s Ben Badler.

Despaigne, 28, had been playing in the Mexican League earlier this year (also approved by Cuba), but he was hit with a lifetime ban from the league after it was discovered that he was playing with a fake Dominican passport, leading to speculation about his possible defection. He returned to Cuba after his initial suspension from the league, and Badler speculated at that time that Despaigne may look to play in Japan were he unable to continue competing in Mexico.

In his report on Despaigne signing, Badler likens Despaigne’s body type to that of the late Kirby Puckett during his playing days. The 5’8″, 215-pound Despaigne is “built like a fire hydrant” and possesses 80-grade raw power — more raw power and bat speed than White Sox first baseman and Cuban countryman Jose Abreu, he notes. Abreu, however, has a more balanced swing and is a better overall hitter than Despaigne, whom Badler describes as an all-or-nothing hitter.

Despaigne is a three-time MVP in Serie Nacional, and he currently holds the single-season home run record with 36 (breaking the previous record of 33, set by Abreu and Despaigne’s former teammate, Yoenis Cespedes). His numbers in the Mexican League were outstanding — in parts of two seasons, he slashed .341/.381/.578 with 13 homers in 227 plate appearances. That was nothing out of the ordinary for Despaigne, who batted a ridiculous .326/.483/.695 in his most recent MVP campaign in Serie Nacional, Badler notes.

It’s not known whether or not we will ever see Despaigne in Major League Baseball, but MLB did inform Badler last month that Despaigne’s lifetime ban from the Mexican League won’t have any bearing on his potential free agent stock; MLB does not have an agreement to honor any suspensions from the Mexican League.

Share 6 Retweet 31 Send via email5

Alfredo Despaigne Transactions

Latest On Extension Talks Between Red Sox, Lester
Main
Trade Market For Center Fielders
0 comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Giants, Scott Kazmir Agree To Minor League Deal

    Yankees Sign Justin Wilson

    Braves Sign Jake Lamb

    Athletics Sign Mitch Moreland

    Yankees Re-Sign Brett Gardner

    Giants To Sign Jake McGee

    Mariners CEO Kevin Mather Resigns

    Athletics Sign Trevor Rosenthal

    Padres Extend Fernando Tatis Jr.

    Mets Sign Kevin Pillar

    Recent

    Central Notes: Bryant, Cruz, Alberto, White Sox

    MLBTR Poll: Grading The Fernando Tatis Jr. Extension

    Blue Jays, Tommy Milone Agree To Minors Deal

    MLBTR Chat Transcript

    Mets, Caleb Joseph Agree To Deal

    NL Central Notes: Senzel, Pirates, Vogelbach

    Angels Acquire Jack Mayfield, Designate Robel Garcia

    Latest On Astros’ Extension Possibilities

    MLBTR Poll: Top-5 Free Agent Contracts

    California Health Notes: Murphy, Ohtani, Bellinger

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Kris Bryant Rumors
    • Jackie Bradley Jr. Rumors
    • Jake Odorizzi Rumors
    • Taijuan Walker Rumors
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Go Ad-Free
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • 2020-21 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2021
    • 2021 MLB Arbitration Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Indians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version