Outfielder Sandro Fabian has reportedly agreed to join the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, per details from Francys Romero and Mike Rodriguez (X links). It’s a three-year pact worth $5.8MM, plus $600K of incentives. Fabian was on the 40-man roster of the Texas Rangers, who have apparently received some release fee from the Carp to let Fabian go, though the exact value of that hasn’t been reported. Once this all becomes official, the Rangers’ 40-man roster count will drop from 39 to 38.
Fabian, 27 in March, was an international signing of the Giants out of the Dominican Republic back in 2014. Baseball America considered him one of the top prospects in that system from 2017 to 2020 as he performed well in the lower levels of the minors, but he struggled more as he climbed the ladder. His prospect stock dimmed and he reached minor league free agency after 2021, having not climbed higher than Double-A.
In each of the past three offseasons, he has signed a minor league deal with the Rangers. He did finally get to make his major league debut late in 2024, getting selected to the roster in the first week of September. He went hitless in five plate appearances over three games.
For the most part, Fabian has been upper level depth for the Rangers. He has taken 1,093 plate appearances in 265 games at the Triple-A level, keeping his strikeout rate down to 15.3% but only walking at a 6.9% clip. In the hitter-friendly environment of the Pacific Coast League, his .272/.332/.482 batting line over that time translates to a wRC+ of 95.
His grip on his roster spot was likely tenuous and he was probably looking at more time in a minor league depth role if he had stayed in North America. Even if he earned himself a regular big league job, it would have taken him three years to get enough service time to qualify for arbitration. By heading to Japan, he is leaving affiliated ball but jumping to a higher level of earning power far more quickly.
Perhaps that will lead to another MLB opportunity down the road. After three years with the Carp, Fabian will be heading into his age-30 season. If he flourishes overseas, he can look for a new deal that would allow him to return to North American ball.
Locks in a life-changing sum of money and he’ll still only be 29 or 30 at the end of the deal, so he should have plenty of time left for an MLB comeback if his 3 years in Japan go well.
Good for him.
Wow, how rare is it for an NPB team to give a multi-year contract like this to a career minor leaguer, sight unseen?
Someone did some good P.R. for Fabian
Does the NPB still have a limit on the number of foreign players each team can have on it’s roster?
Yes.
Yes but they can bend the rules a little by having a player or 2 in their minor leagues, and swap them out like that.
His agent did a helluva job!
It’s surprising a player got a long term deal in Japan without playing there at least 1 season, especially with the Carp who are one of the more frugal orgs in Japan.
They even had an academy in the Dominican to get young players into their system cheaply. The most noticeable player was Alfonso Soriano.
Now for good cheap talent Japanese teams get Cuban players out of Cuba, The players get more money then playing back home and don’t have to defect to do so.
Hmm, perhaps Hiroshima is moving Shota Suekane to 1B to maximize the offense and adding Fabian’s bat to the outfield as well should also improve the defense. They might also have found his performance in the Dominican Winter League to be interesting as well.
this is fascinating. reminds me of the new avenues to get to the NBA without having to do “one and done” in the NCAA. kind of like Ball and Austrian pro league. I hope it works out for him. if so, it can only be a positive for the players and benefitting their lives while enriching world baseball.