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A.J. Cole Signs With NPB’s Tokyo Yakult Swallows

By Mark Polishuk | December 7, 2021 at 10:03am CDT

The Tokyo Yakult Swallows have signed right-hander A.J. Cole to a one-year contract worth roughly $800.4K.  Though Cole has worked almost exclusively as a reliever in recent years, the Swallows have interest in using him as a starter, as per Yahoo Japan (Japanese language link).

Cole, who turns 30 in January, signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays last winter that ended up paying him a $1MM guaranteed salary when Toronto selected him to its active roster in May.  However, Cole ended up pitching just eight innings, as neck tightness and then an oblique strain resulted in a lengthy stint on the injured list.

By the time Cole’s 30-day rehab assignment period was up, the Jays opted to just outright him to Triple-A, and Cole spent the rest of September in the minors before electing free agency following the season.  He’ll now head to an entirely new environment in NPB, with the intriguing prospect of reviving his fortunes as a starting pitcher.

Cole drew plenty of top-100 prospect attention during his days in the Athletics’ and Nationals’ farm systems, to the point that he was swapped back and forth between the two clubs in a pair of prominent trades.  His stock dimmed after struggling in both the big leagues and at Triple-A, in large part due to an inability to limit home runs.  Cole’s problems with the long ball never truly went away even after becoming a reliever in 2018, but he at least posted some decent bottom-line results and some improved strikeout numbers working out of the bullpen.  After a 4.26 ERA over 38 relief innings with the Yankees in 2018, Cole posted a 3.14 ERA over 57 1/3 frames with Cleveland and Toronto in 2019-21.

Since the start of the 2017 campaign, Cole has a 4.28 ERA, 23.1% strikeout rate, 9.7% walk rate, and a 15% home run rate.  As one might expect, the move to relief pitching helped add a bit of velocity to Cole’s fastball, and he has averaged 93.8mph on his heater over the last four seasons.

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Nippon Professional Baseball Transactions A.J. Cole

NPB/KBO Signings: 12/7/21
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What’s Left In The Offseason Catching Market
View Comments (20)
Post a Comment

20 Comments

  1. Johnmac94

    4 years ago

    Gggggg, EVERYONE is running to the Far East, as if they all totally realize what a puppet scum the so-call Commissioner is…

    8
    Reply
    • Joe says...

      4 years ago

      While I’m no fan of Manfred, it isn’t his fault the MLBPA has been incompetent the last couple of CBAs.

      15
      Reply
    • lucas0622

      4 years ago

      By everyone do you mean players who probably would’ve been offered a contract worth less money than the one they got from the NPB teams

      7
      Reply
  2. Bigtimeyankeefan

    4 years ago

    Kind of harsh lol

    Reply
  3. DarkSide830

    4 years ago

    i do like it when the people who clearly act like no notable player has ever went to the NPB or KBO claim every offseason that the MLB is losing more and more talent to these leagues.

    1
    Reply
  4. guyoftheyear

    4 years ago

    Didn’t realize he pitched pretty good the last few seasons

    2
    Reply
    • PutPeteinthehall

      4 years ago

      15 percent home run rate is good? Put down the pipe. This equates to 75 home runs per 500 PA. The man has no business in a MLB mound.

      1
      Reply
  5. User 3663041837

    4 years ago

    If he does well as a starter over there maybe he can get a guaranteed deal back here like Chris Flexon was able to do pitching a year in Asia.

    5
    Reply
  6. Captain Dunsel

    4 years ago

    He can be the Old King there.

    1
    Reply
    • Monkey’s Uncle

      4 years ago

      Or Nat King. Then he would truly be “Unforgettable”.

      4
      Reply
      • Captain Dunsel

        4 years ago

        Are you saying he is lazy, hazy, and crazy?

        1
        Reply
  7. MLB Top 100 Commenter

    4 years ago

    Deleted headline:

    Swallows get lump of coal for Christmas.

    2
    Reply
    • bobtillman

      4 years ago

      At least his nuts won’t be roasting on an open fire.

      2
      Reply
  8. brandons-3

    4 years ago

    It’s fun to read comments on old trade articles like the ones linked in this. Judging by the comments at the time of that Gio González trade, the consensus seemed to be the Nationals steeply overpaid.

    Hindsight seems to be more of a push because while the Athletics got some good contributors or assets, Gio was borderline one of the best pitchers in baseball and a consistent contributor during his time in Washington. A very capable #2 or #3 starter.

    Reply
    • Dustyslambchops23

      4 years ago

      Mlbtr comments? I clicked on the link and it says zero comments

      Reply
      • jdgoat

        4 years ago

        If you click on “prominent” it takes you to one article while “trades” takes you to another. The second one must’ve happened during their switch from disqus to the current format.

        1
        Reply
  9. carlos15

    4 years ago

    Roughly $800.4K, roughly.

    6
    Reply
  10. Daniella

    4 years ago

    And no one cared

    Reply
  11. bobtillman

    4 years ago

    Cole hasn’t been a bad minimum wage pickup for the last few years. Surprised he didn’t get enough bidding in the US. Probably the 13th guy on your staff, but you need those guys too.

    Reply
  12. jimmertee

    4 years ago

    I like his first stint with the BlueJays. If he could have stayed healthy and the heater stayed on velo, he could be a passable reliever in MLB.

    Reply

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