Yunior Marté Signs With NPB’s Chunichi Dragons

Right-hander Yunior Marté has signed with the Chunichi Dragons of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, according to multiple reports out of Japan, including from Chunichi. He had signed a minor league deal with the Mariners in November but the Dragons paid the M’s a release fee, per Francys Romero of Beisbol FR. Romero also reports that Marte will make $1.25MM this year and could add another $200K via incentives.

Marté, 30, pitched for the Giants and Phillies over the past three MLB seasons. He threw 113 1/3 innings over those three campaigns, allowing 5.64 earned runs per nine. His 20.1% strikeout rate and 10.3% walk rate were both a bit shy of average but his 47.8% ground ball rate was quite strong.

That included a rough 6.92 ERA with the Phils in 2024, which prompted that club to put Marté on waivers at the end of the year. He passed through unclaimed, elected free agency and signed a minors pact with the Mariners. MLB clubs generally don’t stop players from pursuing opportunities in foreign leagues, so the M’s have let Marté go, collecting a release fee in the process.

Despite the tepid results, Marté has an intriguing arsenal. His four-seamer and sinker have both averaged between 96 and 98 miles per hour in his career. He has also thrown a slider, changeup, cutter and splitter.

Had he stayed in North America, he would have had a challenging path to a notable role. He is out of options and has less than two years of service time. Even if he earned a roster spot at some point, he might not have kept it for long. Even if he did cling to a spot for a while, he has not yet qualified for arbitration and likely would have earned a salary near the $760K league minimum.

By heading overseas, he locks in a higher salary right away and will likely get a longer opportunity to bounce back from a trying season. If he can take a step forward in his new environment, he can try to return to North American ball in the future or perhaps parlay his results into a new contract with the Dragons or another Asian club.