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Jose De Paula

Daniel Mengden, Kirk McCarty Sign With CPBL’s CTBC Brothers

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Pitchers Daniel Mengden and Kirk McCarty have signed with the CTBC Brothers of the Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan, according to CPBL Stats. The CTBC Brothers have also re-signed pitcher José De Paula, who has been playing in Taiwan since the 2020 season (per CPBL Stats).

Mengden, 31 in February, played six seasons in the majors, with a brief stop-off in the KBO in between his fifth and sixth MLB campaigns. He was drafted by the Astros in 2014 but traded to the Athletics the following summer as part of the return package for Scott Kazmir. The righty made his debut in Oakland the year after that, and over the next five seasons, he appeared in 60 games (48 starts) for the A’s, tossing 302 2/3 innings with a 4.64 ERA.

After being designated for assignment and electing free agency, Mengden spent the 2021 season with the Kia Tigers in the KBO, making 21 starts with a 3.60 ERA. Most impressively, he threw 120 innings, more than he ever reached in a single season in MLB. He returned stateside in 2022, signing a minor league deal with the Royals and earning a couple of big league call-ups, tossing 109 innings at Triple-A Omaha and another seven with Kansas City. He then split the 2023 season between the Royals’ and Nationals’ organizations, although his 7.25 ERA kept him from earning another call to the show.

McCarty, 28, was drafted by Cleveland in 2017, where he slowly rose through the minor league ranks before making his MLB debut in 2022. He was DFA’d that summer and briefly picked up by the Orioles, but less than two weeks later he was DFA’d again (having pitched just one game for Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate) and wound up back in Cleveland. Overall, he appeared in 13 games during his one and only big league season, tossing 37 2/3 innings and posting a 4.54 ERA and 4.57 SIERA.

While McCarty has far less MLB experience than Mengden, he’s coming off a strong season with the SSG Landers in Korea. He signed with the Landers in November 2022, shortly after he was released by the Guardians, and went on to make 24 starts in his lone KBO season, pitching to a 3.39 ERA over 130 frames. Presumably, Mengden and McCarty will both join the CTBC Brothers rotation in 2024.

Those two will be joining mainstay De Paula, who has led the team in innings pitched each of the the past four seasons. Soon to be 36, the southpaw first played affiliated ball for the Padres organization in 2007 and briefly appeared in the majors with the Yankees eight years later. However, he has more recently made a name for himself in foreign leagues; he spent two years playing in Mexico from 2018-19, and since 2020 has pitched for the CTBC Brothers in Taiwan. He was named the CPBL MVP in each of his first two seasons and has continued to succeed into his mid-thirties; in 2023, he made 27 starts with a 3.53 ERA.

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.

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

Yankees Outright Jose De Paula

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Here are today’s outright assignments and minor moves from around the league…

  • The Yankees announced that they’ve outrighted left-hander Jose De Paula to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. De Paula, 27, made his big league debut with the Yankees last week, pitching 3 1/3 innings of and allowing one run on two hits and four walks with two strikeouts. De Paula was designated for assignment two days ago in order to clear space on the roster for the activation of Ivan Nova. He’d signed a split contract this offseason that pays him $510K in the Majors and $175K in the minors.

Yankees Designate Jose De Paula For Assignment

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The Yankees announced that they have designated Jose De Paula for assignment.  The move allows the Bombers to reinstate Ivan Nova from the 60-day disabled list following his rehab assignment.

The Yankees signed De Paula to a one-year major league contract back in November. The split contract called for the left-hander to earn $510K for pitching in the majors and $175K in the minors.   De Paula, 27, owns a 3.77 ERA with 7.8 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 over 470 career innings in the minors.  In total, De Paula made just three appearances for the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate this season.

As the MLBTR DFA Tracker shows, there are now five players in DFA limbo: Scott Atchison, Phillippe Aumont, Hector Noesi, Jeff Bianchi, and De Paula.

Yankees Sign Jose De Paula

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The Yankees have signed left-hander Jose De Paula to a one-year, Major League contract, the team announced.  It’s a split contract that will pay De Paula $510K if the majors and $175K in the minors, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman reports (Twitter link).

De Paula, 26, has a 3.86 ERA, 7.9 K/9 and 3.43 K/BB rate over 452 1/3 career innings in the minors.  He spent his first six pro seasons in the Padres organization before pitching for the Giants’ Triple-A club last season.  Eighty-nine of De Paula’s 105 career outings have been as a starter, though since the Yankees are short on left-handed relief options, it seems likelier that the team will use him out of the bullpen on the Major League level.

Minor Moves: Hernandez, De Paula, Roenicke, Feierabend, Hayes

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Here are the latest minor league transactions, with the newest moves at the top of the post…

  • The Rockies have outrighted Pedro Hernandez to Triple-A, according to the MLB transactions page. The 25-year-old lefty made one start for Colorado before he was designated. As he has previously been outrighted, Hernandez will have the right to elect free agency.
  • Reliever Jose De Paula has re-signed with the Giants on a minor league deal, per the MLB transactions page. The club had designated and then released him just days ago.
  • The Nationals have released righty Josh Roenicke, according to the International League transactions page. Roenicke had spent at least some time in the big leagues for each of the prior six seasons, and logged 150 2/3 between 2012-13. But moving to the starting rotation for the first time as a professional has not resulted in high-level production at Triple-A this year; Roenicke has struggled to a 5.45 ERA through 79 1/3 frames (15 starts) with 4.2 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9.
  • Ryan Feierabend of the Rangers has accepted an outright assignment rather than electing free agency, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The left-hander made his way back to the bigs for the first time since 2008 with a Texas club that has cycled through more than its fair share of arms this year.
  • The Royals outrighted Brett Hayes to Triple-A after the catcher cleared waivers, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports (Twitter link).  As the backup behind workhorse starter Salvador Perez, Hayes hasn’t seen much action this year, appearing in 27 games and posting a .362 OPS over only 53 PA.
  • The Diamondbacks signed right-hander Graham Godfrey, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports.  Godfrey posted a 5.09 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 46 innings with the A’s in 2011-12 and he spent last season pitching for the Red Sox and Pirates’ Triple-A affiliates.
  • The Diamondbacks released first baseman Wagner Mateo earlier this week, according to the Pioneer League’s transactions page.  Mateo originally signed a contract as a 16-year-old with the Cardinals worth a $3.1MM bonus in 2009 but St. Louis voided that deal after Mateo’s physical revealed apparent vision problems.  Mateo signed a $512K contract with the D’Backs a year later and hit .230/.312/.349 over 802 pro plate appearances, never getting above the High-A ball level.  He also posted an 8.87 ERA over 22 1/3 relief innings over the last two seasons.
  • The Reds released right-hander Adam Russell last week, as announced via Twitter by their Triple-A Louisville affiliate.  Russell posted a 3.95 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 1.46 K/BB rate over 86 2/3 relief innings with the White Sox, Padres and Rays from 2008-11, and he’s since toiled in the minors with four other organizations.  He had a 4.33 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 1.79 K/BB in 35 1/3 IP this season with Louisville.
  • Zach McAllister and Evan Scribner were both respectively optioned to Triple-A by the Indians and Athletics over the weekend.  The two righties were both on optional assignment waivers after being designated off their team’s 25-man rosters (but not the 40-man rosters) on Friday, though they were procedural moves rather than traditional DFAs, and neither player was in any danger of being claimed by another club.
  • To monitor players who have been properly designated for assignment, check out MLBTR’s DFA Tracker, as a whopping 10 players currently reside in “DFA limbo.”

Released: Gonzales, Cavazos-Galvez, Roberts, Tejada

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Here are the day’s minor moves:

  • The Blue Jays released right-handed pitcher Tyler Gonzales, tweets Matt Eddy of Baseball America. The 2012 supplemental first rounder did not pitch this season. He never advanced past the GCL where he posted a 9.24 ERA in 25.1 innings.
  • The Dodgers released Triple-A right fielder Brian Cavazos-Galvez, according to Eddy (via Twitter). The former 12th round pick, now 27 years old, has seen his power decline in recent seasons. He spent most of the 2014 season in Double-A, where he posted a tepid .227/.261/.330 line.
  • The Twins released injury prone left fielder Nate Roberts from their High-A roster (also Eddy on Twitter). Roberts was taken as a fifth rounder in the 2010 draft and combined to hit .305/.434/.460 over 945 professional plate appearances. Unfortunately, injuries have derailed his career.

Earlier

  • Former MVP Miguel Tejada has been released by the Marlins, reports Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun-Sentinel. The longtime MLB veteran had a comeback bid derailed by a shoulder injury, but plans to play winter ball and weigh another attempt.
  • The Reds have released pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith, according to the International League transactions page. According to Chris Cotillo of MLBDailyDish.com (via Twitter), Rowland-Smith opted out of his deal. The veteran lefty has not managed to find his form this year, and owns a 4.66 ERA in 29 Triple-A innings for the Reds and Blue Jays. He also spent time with the Diamondbacks at the MLB level, allowing four earned runs in 7 1/3 innings.
  • The Giants have released lefty Jose De Paula, according to the MLB transactions page. He had recently been designated for assignment. The 26-year-old has a 4.21 ERA over 51 1/3 frames in his first attempt at the Triple-A level, backed by 7.2 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9.

Brad Johnson contributed to this post.

Giants Designate Nick Noonan, Jose De Paula

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The Giants have designated infielder Nick Noonan and lefty Jose De Paula for assignment, the club announced. In corresponding moves, the club purchased the contracts of Dan Uggla and Tony Abreu. (To create active roster space, Marco Scutaro and Ehire Adrianza were DL’ed.)

Noonan, 25, was the 32nd overall selection in the 2007 draft. He has only 111 largely unsuccessful MLB plate appearances to his name, all last season, and was struggling mightily at the plate this year with a .239/.281/.302 slash line over 340 plate appearances at Triple-A and High-A.

De Paula has yet to see major league action at age 26. The Dominican native owns a 4.21 ERA through 51 1/3 innings pitched (10 starts and six relief appearances) at Triple-A. Over that span, he has struck out 7.2 and walked 2.8 batters per nine, both of which are in line with his career averages.

Giants Claim Jose De Paula

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The Giants have claimed Jose De Paula off outright waivers from the Padres, tweets Corey Brock of MLB.com.  The left-hander was designated for assignment by San Diego last week along with Brad Brach, Miles Mikolas, and Jaff Decker.

In his first season at the Double-A level, De Paula posted a 3.86 ERA with 6.9 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9 across 14 starts.  With San Francisco claiming De Paula, all four players from last week's roster shuffle are now out of DFA iimbo.  Decker and Mikolas were traded to the Pirates while Brach was shipped to the Orioles.

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