Johnny Barbato

Former Big Leaguers Playing Abroad: NPB Pitchers Roundup

By Steve Adams | October 11, 2019 at 1:49pm CDT

It’s always fun to keep an eye on familiar players who’ve taken their talents across the pond. Now that the 2019 season is in the books, it seemed an opportune time to check in. Numerous former big leaguers and others of note are playing abroad, many of them thriving in Asia’s top leagues.

We’ve seen foreign stints help spur big league revivals from quite a few players. Eric Thames, Miles Mikolas, and Chris Martin are among those that played significant roles in the 2019 MLB campaign. Whether any of the players covered below will do so remains to be seen, but there’s certainly a path.

We started by looking at position players and pitchers in South Korea’s Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) before turning to the hitters of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Remember, teams in these leagues face limits on the number of non-native players they can carry on a roster. That creates a lot of pressure to secure big production from those roster spots, which often spurs mid-season change.

Here’s a 2019 wrap on the NPB’s hurlers from abroad …

The Saitama Seibu Lions slugged their way to the best record in the Japan Pacific League, but they got some of their best innings from imported pitchers. Former Dodgers and Athletics righty Zach Neal turned in 100 1/3 innings of 2.87 ERA ball after spending some time with their minor league affiliate early on. He could be eyeing a return to the Majors, though a 4.6 K/9 rate in Japan is a red flag even if it’s accompanied by a pristine 1.3 BB/9 mark. Righties Kyle Martin and Deunte Heath, who had quite brief stints with the Red Sox and White Sox, respectively, helped the Lions as well. Martin notched a 3.67 ERA in 41 2/3 innings (albeit with 28 walks), while Heath chipped in 31 1/3 innings of 3.73 ERA ball and averaged 9.8 K/9 against 4.0 BB/9.
Mariners fans surely remember Cuban-born lefty Ariel Miranda, who started 40 games for them from 2016-18. Now 30, Miranda tossed 86 innings for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks and notched a respectable 4.19 ERA in a hitter-friendly league, though he carried an unsightly 58-to-48 K/BB ratio. Dutch righty Rick van den Hurk hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2012, having carved out a career between the KBO and NPB. He only pitched 17 2/3 innings for the Hawks this season but turned in a 3.12 ERA and a terrific 22-to-2 K/BB ratio. Given his track record there — 3.50 ERA in nearly 500 NPB innings — the 34-year-old could be in Japan to stay. The Hawks also enjoyed 57 2/3 innings of 3.90 ERA ball from Japanese-born southpaw Tsuyoshi Wada, who was with the Cubs from 2014-15 before returning to Japan. At 38 years of age, he’s still chugging along.
Former Twins righty Alan Busenitz and former Indians righty Frank Herrmann formed a dominant setup combo for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Busenitz chipped in 51 frames with a 1.94 ERA with 7.9 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9. Herrmann’s 3.04 ERA and 49-to-16 K/BB ratio in 47 2/3 innings hardly went unnoticed, either. Herrmann will turn 36 early next season, but Busenitz is still just 29.
The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters didn’t benefit much from former big leaguers, as right-hander Johnny Barbato struggled through 32 innings. Avid Indians fans may remember right-hander Toru Murata, who pitched 3 1/3 innings for the Tribe in ’15 after spending several years in their minor league system. He chipped in 34 innings with a 3.18 ERA but walked nearly as many hitters (21) as he struck out (22). Former Cubs righty Justin Hancock tossed seven innings but was hit hard. Padres diehards may remember minor league righty Bryan Rodriguez, who tossed 91 1/3 innings of 3.25 ERA ball for the Fighters.
Left-hander Andrew Albers, formerly of the Twins and Mariners, was dominant for the Orix Buffaloes in 2018 but took a step back with a 5.83 ERA in in 63 1/3 innings. The Buffaloes, however, received a seventh strong season from perhaps forgotten Cardinals righty Brandon Dickson, who posted a 3.03 ERA in 35 2/3 frames and has racked up 856 innings of 3.32 ERA ball since first signing with the Buffaloes back in 2013. Orix also picked up former Pirates prospect Tyler Eppler prior to the 2019 season, and after spending some time with the Buffaloes’ minor league club, he emerged with a 4.02 ERA, 7.2 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 31 1/3 innings.
The 2019 Yomiuri Giants received innings from four former big league pitchers: Taylor Jungmann, Rubby De La Rosa, Scott Mathieson and Ryan Cook. Jungmann struggled to an ERA just over 6.00 in 44 1/3 innings, while De La Rosa fared best (2.25 ERA in 25 innings). Mathieson, now 35, was limited to 22 2/3 innings of 4.37 ERA ball but has been a consistently impressive presence in the Giants’ bullpen since 2012 (2.46 ERA, 54 saves in 431 frames). Cook tallied just 15 innings and surrendered eight runs.
Lefty Edwin Escobar’s biggest claim to fame in affiliated stateside ball might’ve been being included in a trade for Jake Peavy, but the 27-year-old has become a force in Japan. In his third season overseas, he turned in 75 1/3 innings of 2.51 ERA ball with 10.5 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 for the second-place Yokohama DeNa BayStars. Former Cubs righty Spencer Patton took a step back after a dominant 2018 with the BayStars, tossing 36 2/3 innings but posting a 5.15 ERA. He did rack up 45 punchouts in that time. And former Nats lefty Sammy Solis made a brief 2019 cameo with the Yokohama club as well, tossing 4 1/3 innings with one run allowed.
Right-hander Randy Messenger, of mid-2000s Marlins/Giants/Mariners fame, has become one of NPB’s best starters but struggled a bit in his age-37 season (4.67 ERA in 79 innings). But with more than 1600 innings of 3.13 ERA ball in a decade’s worth of time in Japan, he’s left a legacy with the Hanshin Tigers and been compensated handsomely for his efforts. The Tigers also received 103 2/3 innings of 4.69 ERA ball from righty Onelki Garcia, who tossed a combined 7 1/3 innings between the Dodgers and Royals in MLB. Hanshin was also a who’s-who of former Cubs, with righties Pierce Johnson, Kyuji Fujikawa and Rafael Dolis logging significant time. Johnson was brilliant, notching an immaculate 1.38 EA with 14.0 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9 in 58 2/3 frames. Fujikawa (1.77 ERA) and Dolis (2.11 ERA) split closing duties and combined for 35 saves in 111 1/3 innings (both split almost evenly).
Former big league righties Casey Lawrence (Mariners) and Johnny Hellweg (Brewers) made extremely fleeting appearances with the Hiroshima Carp, who boasted perhaps the most impactful foreign pitcher in the league: lefty Kris Johnson. The former Twins/Pirates hurler has been flat-out dominant in five seasons with the Carp, totaling 756 1/3 innings with a 2.54 ERA, 7.0 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 since making the jump. He’ll turn 35 next week, but it’s perhaps worth noting that the former Sawamura Award winner’s record contract is expiring.
Remember situational lefty Enny Romero? He’s not only starting games for the Chunichi Dragons, he’s doing so fairly well. In 116 frames this year, he posted a 4.26 ERA with 8.1 K/9 against 4.3 BB/9. Fellow southpaw Joely Rodriguez, who spent parts of two seasons with the Phillies, overwhelmed NPB hitters with a 1.64 ERA, 11.5 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 55 2/3 frames out of the Dragons’ pen. Even Daisuke Matsuzaka — yes, that Daisuke Matsuzaka — tossed 5 1/3 innings with the Dragons at the age of 39, but he didn’t fare well. To this point, however, he’s announced no plans to retire.
Lastly, the Yakult Swallows had five former big leaguers suit up for them: righty David Buchanan, right-hander Scott McGough, southpaw David Huff, righty Ryota Igarashi (blast from the past!) and right-hander Albert Suarez. Buchanan paced the group at 99 2/3 innings, though his 4.79 ERA wasn’t much to behold. McGough notched 11 saves and a 3.15 ERA, however, while Huff continued his strong overseas career with a 3.97 ERA. Igarashi is still going strong with a 2.98 ERA at age 40, and Suarez yielded just three runs in 17 2/3 innings.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/13/18

By Steve Adams | September 13, 2018 at 2:39pm CDT

Here are Thursday’s minor moves from around the game…

The Tigers announced that right-hander Johnny Barbato cleared waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week. He’s been outrighted off the 40-man roster. Barbato, 26, tossed just 6 2/3 innings for the Tigers this season and was tagged for nine earned runs in that time. However, he also pitched to an outstanding 1.45 ERA with 37 strikeouts against just 10 walks in 37 1/3 innings of Triple-A ball. Barbato averages a bit better than 94 mph on his fastball and has averaged better than a strikeout per inning throughout his minor league career, but he’s struggled in parts of three MLB seasons with the Yankees, Pirates and Tigers.

Tigers Select Matt Hall, Designate Johnny Barbato

By Jeff Todd | September 11, 2018 at 11:01am CDT

The Tigers announced today that they have selected the contract of lefty Matt Hall. To create 40-man space, the organization designated right-hander Johnny Barbato.

Hall, 24, was a sixth-round pick in the 2015 draft, meaning he’d have been eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter had he not gone onto the MLB roster. Instead, he’ll get a taste of the big leagues before perhaps competing for a job in camp.

Certainly, Hall has had an excellent season thus far in the upper minors. He opened the year in a relief capacity despite generally succeeding in the rotation in the lower minors. But Hall has thrown well enough overall that he worked as a starter upon rising to Triple-A. All told, he has recorded 114 1/3 innings of 2.13 ERA ball on the year, with 10.6 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9.

Barbato was also a sixth-round pick and has typically been quite effective in the upper minors. He spent most of the year turning in good numbers at Triple-A, with a 1.45 ERA in 37 1/3 innings. Unfortunately, that has not yet translated to the major-league level thus far.

Though Barbato’s MLB opportunities have been limited over the past three seasons, that’s due largely to the outcomes. In his seven MLB relief appearances this year with Detriot, he coughed up nine earned runs on 11 hits (including three home runs) while allowing five walks and managing only a pair of strikeouts.

Tigers Release Gerson Moreno, Announce Pitching Roster Moves

By Jeff Todd | May 30, 2018 at 3:51pm CDT

3:51pm: Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press adds some context to the surprising release of Moreno (Twitter link). The 22-year-old is set to undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, GM Al Avila revealed today.

Avila added that placing Moreno on release waivers was the best way to get him off the 40-man roster while ensuring a chance to retain him via a new minor league deal (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Jason Beck). A player claimed off release waivers can reject the assignment to a new club in favor of free agency, whereas a player claimed from outright waivers would not (unless he had previously been outrighted or has three-plus years of MLB experience — neither of which applies to Moreno). The Tigers are interested in bringing Moreno back to the organization if he reaches the open market, per Avila.

2:35pm: The Tigers announced that they have released righty Gerson Moreno. That clears a 40-man roster spot, leaving the team with one opening.

Moreno, 22, was given a roster spot last fall to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. He had struggled at the Double-A level but found some success in the Arizona Fall League.

Entering the current season, Moreno graded among Detroit’s more notable prospects (see, e.g., MLB.com, Fangraphs) owing to his big fastball and reasonably promising (albeit still-inconsistent) secondary offerings. Thus far in 2018, Moreno’s return to the penultimate level of the minors has gone poorly. Through 17 innings, he carries a 5.29 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 7.4 BB/9. Given the promise he showed heading into the season, it registers as at least some degree of surprise that the Tigers would simply cut him loose based on a handful of Double-A innings — no matter how discouraging they may have been.

Detroit also announced, as it had indicated previously, that lefties Francisco Liriano (hamstring strain) and Daniel Stumpf (ulnar nerve irritation) are each headed to the 10-day DL. Two relievers — righty Johnny Barbato and southpaw Ryan Carpenter — have been recalled to replace them on the active roster. At this time, it’s still not known how long Liriano and Stumpf are expected to be sidelined.

Tigers Claim Johnny Barbato

By Jeff Todd | January 11, 2018 at 1:26pm CDT

The Tigers have claimed righty Johnny Barbato off waivers from the Pirates, the teams announced and Robert Murray of Fan Rag first tweeted. He was designated recently by Pittsburgh when the club claimed fellow righty Shane Carle.

Barbato, 25, saw 28 2/3 innings of action in 2017, managing a 4.08 ERA with 7.2 K/9 and 5.7 BB/9. Needless to say, that walk tally will need to go down if Barbato hopes to succeed in the majors. He has never shown major control issues in the minors, though, and he did demonstrate a 94+ mph fastball and average (for a reliever) 11.3% swinging-strike rate.

Pirates Claim Shane Carle, Designate Johnny Barbato

By Steve Adams | January 4, 2018 at 2:49pm CDT

The Pirates announced on Thursday that they’ve claimed righty Shane Carle off waivers from the Rockies and designated right-hander Johnny Barbato for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Carle was designated for assignment last week when the Rockies signed Wade Davis.

Carle, 26, made his Major League debut with the Rockies last year, tossing four innings and yielding three runs on six hits and no walks with four punchouts. He averaged 93.6 mph on his heater in that brief four-inning sample and spent the bulk of the year in Triple-A, where he struggled to a 5.37 ERA in an extremely hitter-friendly setting. Carle averaged 7.3 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 with a 43.9 percent ground-ball rate in Albuquerque — his second go-around at that level.

Carle was initially drafted by the Pirates back in 2013, though Pittsburgh traded him to Colorado in exchange for righty Rob Scahill about 18 months later. He has a pair of minor league options remaining, so the Bucs can send him to Triple-A this spring without needing to expose him to waivers.

Barbato, 25, posted a 4.08 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 5.7 BB/9 and a 37.9 percent grounder rate in 28 2/3 frames out of the Pittsburgh ’pen last season. He turned in more encouraging K/BB numbers and a solid 3.06 ERA in 35 1/3 Triple-A innings with the Pirates, but Barbato also averaged a gaudy 1.78 HR/9 while pitching in Triple-A. That, paired with his control problems in the Majors, may have made him expendable in the Pirates’ eyes.

Barbato averages better than 94 mph on his fastball and has averaged better than a strikeout per inning over the vast majority of his career, including upper-minors stints with the Yankees and Pirates in recent seasons. He still has a minor league option remaining, so another club in need of bullpen depth could pick him up and hope to better help him harness his command with a change of scenery.

Yankees Acquire Matt Frawley From Pirates

By Steve Adams | June 14, 2017 at 1:19pm CDT

The Yankees announced that they’ve acquired minor league right-hander Matt Frawley from the Pirates to complete the April 17 trade that sent right-hander Johnny Barbato to Pittsburgh in exchange for a player to be named later. Frawley, 21, will be assigned to the Yankees’ Class-A affiliate in Charleston.

Frawley was Pittsburgh’s 17th-round selection in last year’s draft and has gotten off to a fine start in his pro career. After posting a 4.18 ERA though 28 innings with Pittsburgh’s short-season Class-A affiliate in 2016, he’s tossed 33 1/3 innings of 1.62 ERA ball with 8.6 K/9 against 1.1 BB/9 in with Class-A West Virginia in the South Atlantic League thus far in 2017. The Purdue product isn’t especially young for that level, however, so it’ll be more telling to see how he performs against higher levels of competition. Baseball Amercia wrote at the time of the draft that he sits in the low 90s with his fastball and has a fringy curveball as well.

The 24-year-old Barbato has logged 22 1/3 innings with the Pirates this year, resulting in an uninspiring 4.84 ERA with 6.9 K/9, 5.2 BB/9 and a 35.2 percent ground-ball rate. Barbato has averaged better than 94 mph on his fastball and does come with a strong Triple-A track record, though, so the Pirates have plenty of time to turn him around into a more serviceable member of the big league bullpen.

Pirates Acquire Johnny Barbato From Yankees

By Steve Adams | April 17, 2017 at 1:32pm CDT

The Yankees announced that they’ve traded right-hander Johnny Barbato to the Pirates in exchange for a player to be named later or cash. Barbato was designated for assignment by the Yankees last week. THe Bucs entered the day with a pair of open spots on their 40-man roster, so a corresponding move isn’t required. Pittsburgh announced that Barbato has been optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis.

[Related: Updated Pittsburgh Pirates Depth Chart]

The 24-year-old Barbato, originally acquired in the trade that sent right-hander Shawn Kelley to San Diego, struggled in his Major League debut with the Yanks last season, as he surrendered 11 runs in 13 innings of work. On the plus side, Barbato did post an impressive 15-to-5 K/BB ratio in that short time while averaging 94.6 mph on his fastball. Barbato’s numbers in Triple-A last season were solid as well: a 2.61 ERA with 9.1 K/9, 4.3 BB/9 and a 46.3 percent ground-ball rate in 48 1/3 frames.

There’s no immediate room in the Pittsburgh bullpen for Barbato, as manager Clint Hurdle’s relief corps is fairly well set with Tony Watson (the current closer), Daniel Hudson, Felipe Rivero, Juan Nicasio, Antonio Bastardo, Trevor Williams and long man Wade LeBlanc providing a nice blend of both left- and right-handed options. Bastardo has gotten off to a rough start, but his $6.5MM salary probably gives him a bit of a leash to right the ship. For now, Barbato will join relievers such as A.J. Schugel and Pat Light on a Triple-A pitching staff that is fairly well stocked with depth options for the big league pitching staff (both in the bullpen and in the rotation).

Yankees Designate Johnny Barbato, Select Jordan Montgomery’s Contract

By Steve Adams | April 12, 2017 at 11:37am CDT

The Yankees announced that they’ve designated right-hander Johnny Barbato for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for left-hander Jordan Montgomery, whose contract has now been officially selected from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Montgomery will make his Major League debut against the Rays today after winning the fifth spot in the Yankees’ rotation.

Montgomery, also 24, was barely on the radar for a rotation spot heading into Spring Training despite a strong performance between Double-A and Triple-A last season. But, a 3.20 ERA and a 17-to-3 K/BB ratio in 19 2/3 innings paired nicely with last year’s combined 2.13 ERA, 8.7 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in the minor leagues to give Montgomery the edge for the final rotation slot in the Bronx. He’ll join Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, CC Sabathia and Luis Severino in manager Joe Girardi’s starting five for the time being, although the overall rotation mix could still be fluid to some extent. Severino struggled in his first outing of the season, while the top three arms all come with fairly notable injury risk.

Montgomery will make his first MLB start on the same day as battery-mate Kyle Hiashioka, who was recalled from Triple-A after Gary Sanchez hit the disabled list this past weekend. The 26-year-old Higashioka has struggled to get on base in the Triple-A level to this point in his career but demonstrated some pop, as evidenced by his .237/.287/.473 batting line in 45 games at that level.

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