The Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball announced that they have signed right-hander Tayron Guerrero. Per reporter Francys Romero (X link), Guerrero will make a salary of $600K next year.
It’s a bit of a homecoming for Guerrero, 34 in January, as he also pitched for the Marines in 2022. He was in affiliated ball for over a decade prior to that but was only able to throw 106 major league innings. Splitting time between the Padres and Marlins, he posted a 5.77 earned run average from 2016 to 2019.
He wasn’t able to crack the big leagues in 2020 or 2021 so he headed to Japan in 2022 and had a nice season with the Marines. He tossed 46 innings over 49 appearances with a 3.52 ERA, 32.5% strikeout rate and 10.3% walk rate.
He came back to North America after that showing, signing a minor league deal with the Reds going into 2023. He struggled badly for Triple-A Louisville, with an 11.51 ERA over his 20 appearances, walking more batters than he struck out. He was released in June and then signed with the Diablos Rojos of the Mexican League. A 1.17 ERA over his eight appearances there was apparently enough for him to get a minor league deal with the Angels for the 2024 season.
He made 30 appearances at Triple-A Reno this year, in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. His 5.73 ERA doesn’t look great but his 20.6% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate and 44% ground ball rate were all solid enough, leading to a 3.47 FIP.
If Guerrero stayed in North America, he surely would have been limited to minor league offers and would have had to fight his way to the big leagues. By returning to Japan, he has locked in a notable salary just a bit below next year’s MLB minimum, which will be $760K.
I was wondering where this -1.6 war player went. No news is better than this.
I remember him throwing gas. 104 MPH was his best.
6’8 is impressive.
Well, best of luck to him.
Triple A Reno? I thought it was Salt Lake.
it is salt lake. box score should show mcdonough with 1 error soon enough