Right-hander Steve Delabar is headed to Japan and will sign with the Hiroshima Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball, reports SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo (via Twitter). Delabar was released by the Reds over the weekend.
Cincinnati cut bait on the 32-year-old veteran after he turned in eight rough innings for the club this year. He did strike out ten batters, but also walked the same number while allowing six earned runs. Delabar did show somewhat better in his 24 Triple-A frames, posting a 2.62 ERA with 9.4 K/9 but a still-troubling 6.0 BB/9.
Delabar has long shown impressive strikeout ability, as he has racked up 11.2 per nine innings in his 194 2/3 career MLB frames. And he still works at about 93 mph with his average fastball. When he keeps the walks in check, he has been a reasonably effective reliever, but Delabar last posted a sub-4.00 ERA in 2013.
Sayonara.