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CPBL’s Uni-Lions Agree To Terms With Keyvius Sampson

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Former Reds pitcher Keyvius Sampson has agreed to a deal to return to the Uni-Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (H/T CPBL Stats).

Sampson, 32 yesterday, made ten starts for the team last year, pitching to a 3.54 ERA over 61 innings. He also spent time in independent ball, logging 37 innings of 3.41 ERA ball for Lexington.

A fourth round draft pick by the Padres back in 2009, Sampson was taken off waivers by the Reds in 2015. He made his big league debut that year, making 12 starts (13 appearances) and working to a 6.54 ERA over 52 1/3 innings. The Reds shifted him to the bullpen in 2016, and Sampson enjoyed a bit of improvement from his rookie campaign, working to a 4.35 ERA over 39 1/3 innings. A high walk and home run rate meant the underlying numbers were far less promising though, and the Reds cut ties with Sampson at the end of the season.

Since then, he’s bounced around a fair bit, inking minor league deals with the Diamondbacks, Rangers, Marlins, Giants and most recently the White Sox back in 2021. He never made it back to the big leagues during that time though, and worked to a 5.40 ERA over 315 innings at Triple-A. Dotted throughout that time has been stints in Korea, Mexico and Venezuela.

Shawn Morimando In Talks With CPBL’s CTBC Brothers

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The CTBC Brothers of Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League are reportedly in talks with former big league pitcher Shawn Morimando (h/t to CPBL Stats). If a deal emerges, it will be Morimando’s third stint with the Brothers, having made appearances with the team during the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

Morimando, 30, was selected by the Guardians in the 19th round of the 2011 draft and would make his major league debut with the team during the 2016 season. However, he would be unable to secure a permanent role in Cleveland’s bullpen, instead spending the 2017 season with their Triple-A affiliate in Columbus before being released mid-way through the 2018 season, eventually joining Toronto on a minor league deal. The lefty would spend the rest of the 2018 season and the entirety of the 2019 season with Toronto’s Triple-A team in Buffalo before spending the 2020 season in Australia.

Following the conclusion of the 2020 season, Morimando would return state-side, signing a minor league deal with the Marlins in February 2021 and eventually earning a promotion to the big league club in May — his first appearance at the Major League level since 2016. However, he struggled to a 9.58 ERA over 10 1/3 innings (four appearances) and was outrighted several times over the season before being released in late September. Morimando would spend the remainder of 2021 with the CTBC Brothers, and re-signed with the club following the conclusion of the season.

The southpaw had a strong start in his second season with the Brothers, pitching to a 2.56 ERA in 91 1/3 innings (14 starts) with an 89:29 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Nevertheless, the club released Morimando in July to allow him to pursue an opportunity in South Korea with the SSG Landers. After joining the Landers, Morimando continued his strong 2022 form, pitching 75 1/3 innings of 1.67 ERA baseball, albeit with a poorer 67:23 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Despite having played in parts of 12 seasons of affiliate baseball, Morimando has only recently turned 30 and could eventually look for a return to the affiliated ranks if he performs well in the CPBL. For now, Morimando will likely slot into the starting rotation of a Brothers’ team fresh off their second consecutive league victory.

CPBL’s CTBC Brothers Extend Jose De Paula

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The CTBC Brothers of Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League have signed left-handed pitcher Jose De Paula to a two-year extension that will cover the 2022 and 2023 seasons. (Hat tip to CPBL Stats, relaying a report from ETtoday.)

The native of the Dominican Republic was originally signed by the Padres, making his affiliated debut in rookie ball as a 19-year-old back in 2007. De Paula climbed the Padres’ farm system and got as high as Double-A before being claimed on waivers by the Giants after the 2013 season. In 2014, he logged 51 1/3 Triple-A innings with an ERA of 4.21. The Yankees signed him to a split contract for 2015, allowing De Paula to make his MLB debut that season. He appeared in one big league game, throwing 3 1/3 innings, allowing two hits and four walks but just one run. He also threw 27 2/3 innings in Triple-A that year with an ERA of 5.20.

De Paula spent the next few years pitching in the Dominican Winter League and Mexican League, largely producing solid but unspectacular results. Heading to Taiwan for the 2020 season allowed him to completely reinvent himself. He pitched in 27 games for the Brothers, 26 of them starts, throwing 174 1/3 innings with an ERA of 3.20, racking up 192 strikeouts against just 48 walks. Based on that excellent campaign, he was crowned the CPBL MVP for 2020. Returning to the Brothers for 2021, he took his game to an even higher level, throwing 178 innings with a miniscule ERA of 1.77, along with 187 strikeouts and 25 walks. That superb effort helped the Brothers win the CPBL championship and earned De Paula his second straight MVP honor.

In October of last year, De Paula was extended by the Brothers for the 2022 season, but has now been extended for yet another year, allowing him to stick with the club for two more seasons in what has been a remarkable second act to his career. The southpaw will turn 34 in March, meaning this contract will keep him with the Brothers through his age-35 season.

Minor League Notes: Space Cowboys, Hsin-Chieh Lin

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Let’s check in on the latest from the minor league landscape…

  • The Sugar Land Skeeters have completed their rebrand. The Astros’ Triple-A affiliate is now the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, with brand new duds and a new logo to boot. The Skeeters had played in the independent league from 2012 until 2019, with last season being their first season as an affiliated ballclub. In terms of the re-brand, the Space Cowboys struck a chord alluding to both their Texas roots and Houston’s NASA connection. “We really wanted an identity that reflected a connection to the Astros but stood out as unique and was aligned with the values of Sugar Land: vibrant, thriving, aggressive and a very family-oriented community that’s clearly focused on investing in the future,” said Anita Sehgal, SVP, marketing and communications at the Astros, per MLB.com’s Tyler Maun.
  • Phillies prospect Hsin-Chieh Lin plans to enter the 2022 draft for the Chinese Professional Baseball League, per the CPBL Stats Twitter account. Lin has pitched in the Phillies farm system since 2018. The right-hander pitched most of 2021 with Single-A Clearwater, tossing 20 innings with a 7.20ERA over four starts and four relief appearances. Lin was not considered to be a top prospect, and given that he is a native of Taiwan, it’s easy to understand a desire to make a run at the CPBL.

Recapping The CPBL’s International Player Signings

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Chinese Professional Baseball League teams are preparing for their spring camps, and the last several months have seen the CPBL’s five clubs adding some familiar foreign-born names to their rosters.  Under CPBL rules, teams are allowed to have a maximum of four international players on their active rosters, so with some teams opting to add a fifth or sixth player to keep in their minor leagues for replacement purposes.  However, replacing an international player isn’t as simple as a normal call-up — a foreign player must be released in order to be removed from a CPBL team’s active roster.

There isn’t an official limit on how many international-born players can be signed per team, so it is possible that more names could be added to this list in the coming days or weeks.  (The post will be updated to reflect such moves.)  Much thanks to the CPBL Stats website for their work in reporting on many of these signings.  Here’s the rundown…

CTBC Brothers
Jose De Paula, Shawn Morimando, Francisco Pena, Teddy Stankiewicz, Jose Valdez

Fubon Guardians
Xavier Batista, Yomar Flande Concepcion, Luis Escobar, Joe Van Meter

Rakuten Monkeys
Ryan Bollinger, Dylan Covey, Bradin Hagens, Henry Sosa

Uni-President Lions
Brock Dykxhoorn, Keury Mella, Logan Ondrusek, Wilin Rosario

Wei Chuan Dragons
Jake Brigham, Drew Gagnon, Telvin Nash, Ronny Rodriguez, Bryan Woodall

CPBL’s Rakuten Monkeys Re-Sign Dylan Covey, Ryan Bollinger

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Last month, the Rakuten Monkeys of the Chinese Professional Baseball League announced that right-hander Dylan Covey and left-hander Ryan Bollinger had signed new contracts with the team for the 2022 season.  (Hat tip to CPBL Stats.)  Both pitchers will be entering their second season with the Monkeys, and for Bollinger, 2022 will be his fourth year of CPBL action.

Covey posted a 6.57 ERA over 264 1/3 innings with the White Sox and Red Sox from 2017-20, officially beginning his MLB career after Chicago selected him away from the A’s in the 2016 Rule 5 Draft.  The righty’s grounder-heavy arsenal didn’t translate well against Major League batters, as Covey had only a 15.4% career strikeout rate, and the long ball (18.4% home run rate) also plagued him.

While that strikeout rate only marginally improved in Covey’s first CPBL season, the overall numbers were much better, as he posted a 4.01 ERA over 58 1/3 innings with the Monkeys.  As noted by CPBL Stats, Covey joined the Taoyuan-based team in midseason and got off to a slow start, but posted a minuscule 0.58 ERA over his final five outings of the season.

Though Bollinger has been pitching in the CPBL for three seasons, he has only seen action in two of those years, as foot injuries kept him from appearing in even a single game in 2020.  Moving from the Fubon Guardians to the Monkeys last year, Bollinger had a nice rebound, posting a 2.80 ERA and 24.73% strikeout rate over 106 innings for the Rakuten squad.

Bollinger (who turns 31 in February) was a 47th-round pick for the Phillies back in 2009, drafted as a first baseman but quickly transitioning to pitching.  He never actually played in Philadelphia’s farm system, as Bollinger moved onto a well-traveled pro career that has included stops with several independent teams, the Australian Baseball League, and the CPBL.  The southpaw pitched in the affiliated minors with the White Sox from 2011-13 and with the Yankees in 2018, plus he signed a minor league deal with the Padres in the 2018-19 offseason but was released at the end of Spring Training.

CPBL’s Uni-President Lions Sign Keury Mella, Logan Ondrusek

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Last week, the Uni-President Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League announced the signings of right-handers Keury Mella and Logan Ondrusek (h/t to CPBL Stats). They join former Rockies catcher Wilin Rosario as one-time big leaguers who’ll be suiting up with the Lions in 2022.

Mella has appeared in each of the past five MLB seasons, although he’s never exceeded ten innings in a given year. The 28-year-old has made 21 appearances in relief, totaling 28 2/3 innings of 7.22 ERA ball. A former Giants prospect, he was traded to the Reds alongside Adam Duvall in the July 2015 Mike Leake deal. Mella spent parts of three years in Cincinnati and has pitched with the Diamondbacks in each of the last two years.

Last season, Mella made two MLB appearances but spent the bulk of the year in Triple-A, splitting the season between the top affiliates of the D-Backs and Pirates. The Dominican Republic native had a 5.44 ERA over 48 Triple-A innings, where he fanned 24.5% of opponents against a 9.9% walk rate. At the end of the season, he elected minor league free agency and will now embark on his first stint in an Asian professional league.

Ondrusek has a bit more experience in foreign leagues, but this will be his first stint in the CPBL. A frequently-utilized middle relief option with the Reds from 2010-14, he also appeared briefly with the 2016 Orioles. Altogether, the Texas native owns a 4.03 ERA across 277 MLB innings.

Since his time in Cincinnati, the 36-year-old (37 next month) logged some time with the Yakult Swallows of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He’s bounced between a few Triple-A clubs, independent ball and appeared in the Mexican League. Ondrusek hooked on with the Giants on a minor league deal late last season, ultimately making nine appearances (including eight starts) with their top affiliate in Sacramento. He posted a 4.78 ERA with a slightly below average 21.8% strikeout rate but a strong 6.9% walk percentage across 43 1/3 innings there.

CPBL’s Wei Chuan Dragons Sign Ronny Rodriguez

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The Wei Chuan Dragons of Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League announced this afternoon they’ve agreed to a deal with infielder Ronny Rodríguez (h/t to CPBL Stats). It’ll be the first CPBL action for the 29-year-old, who spent some time in Japan last season as a member of the Nippon-Ham Fighters.

Rodríguez has two seasons of big league experience, logging time at all four infield positions with the Tigers between 2018-19. After seven seasons in the Indians organization, Rodríguez signed with Detroit as a minor league free agent over the 2017-18 offseason. He earned his first MLB call in May 2018 and tallied 206 plate appearances across 62 games as a rookie.

Despite hitting just .220/.256/.335 during his debut campaign, the right-handed hitting Rodríguez received fairly significant run the following season. He appeared in a bit more than half of Detroit’s games and showed intriguing power, popping 14 home runs with an impressive .217 ISO (slugging minus batting average). Yet Rodríguez also punched out at an alarming 27.9% clip while walking in only 4.4% of his plate appearances, contributing to an untenable .252 on-base percentage.

The Brewers claimed Rodríguez off waivers the following offseason, but he never appeared in a game with Milwaukee. He spent the bulk of the 2020 campaign at their alternate training site before being outrighted off the roster that September. Rodríguez’s jump to NPB last season proved unsuccessful, as he stumbled to a .197/.216/.426 mark across 125 plate appearances with the Fighters. He’ll try to more closely approximate the .293/.324/.473 line he’s compiled in parts of four Triple-A seasons during his first year with the Dragons.

CPBL’s Uni-President Lions Sign Wilin Rosario

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Earlier this month, the Uni-President Lions of Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League announced an agreement with catcher Wilin Rosario (h/t to the Taipei Times). The 32-year-old (33 in February) is best known in the United States for his five-year MLB run with the Rockies.

A right-handed hitter, Rosario broke into the majors as a September call-up in 2011. He assumed the primary role behind the dish in Colorado the following season, tallying 400+ plate appearances in each of the next three years. A bat-first backstop, Rosario provided above-average offensive numbers (even after accounting for Coors Field’s hitter-friendly nature), popping 20+ homers in each of his first two full campaigns.

By 2014, however, Rosario’s productivity at the plate tailed off, at which point his longstanding issues as a pitch framer and ball blocker became more notable. No other backstop was charged with more passed balls than Rosario (42) between 2012 and 2014. After a second consecutive subpar campaign with the bat as well, Colorado outrighted the Dominican Republic native off their 40-man roster.

Rosario hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since being cut loose by the Rox. He signed with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization in 2016, re-signing there for 2017 as well. After a two-year stint with a monstrous .330/.390/.625 line, Rosario made the jump to Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball in 2018. He struggled to a .242/.285/.374 mark there but returned to affiliated ball on a minor league deal with the Twins in advance of the 2019 campaign.

Despite a decent showing at the plate with Minnesota’s Triple-A affiliate, Rosario didn’t get a call to the majors that year. He didn’t play in 2020 but spent a bit of last season in the Mexican League. He’ll now make his first foray to playing in Taiwan, which will give him experience at the highest levels in each of MLB, the KBO, NPB, the Mexican League and the CPBL.

CPBL’s CTBC Brothers Sign Francisco Pena

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The CTBC Brothers of Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League announced the signing of former big league catcher Francisco Peña (h/t to CPBL Stats). It’ll be the first experience in an Asian professional league for the 32-year-old, who has spent the past fifteen seasons in affiliated ball in the United States.

Peña has appeared in the majors in parts of five seasons, logging at least brief time each year between 2014-18. He broke in with the Royals but tallied just seven combined plate appearances with Kansas City’s pennant-winning clubs in 2014-15. The right-handed hitting backstop spent parts of the next two seasons with the Orioles before tallying a career-high 142 plate appearances as Yadier Molina’s backup with the Cardinals in 2018.

Over 202 MLB plate appearances, Peña owns a .216/.249/.311 line with five home runs. He’s spent the past few seasons in Triple-A, including the 2021 campaign with the A’s top affiliate in Las Vegas. He hit .250/.322/.459 over 447 plate appearances in that extremely hitter-friendly setting but will now make the jump to Taiwan. He’ll team up with fellow former big leaguers Shawn Morimando and José Valdez, each of whom signed with the Taichung-based club last October.

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