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Former MLB Players In NPB: Japan Pacific League

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Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball is targeting a June 19 Opening Day. As is the case with the Korea Baseball Organization, the league has plenty of recognizable names for MLB fans to follow as we await the return of baseball in North America. NPB is larger than the KBO (12 teams vs. 10) and has slightly lesser restrictions on foreign players. As such, we’ll split the “names to watch” rundown into two posts — one covering the Japan Pacific League and another still to come on the Japan Central League.

Teams have been ordered based on 2019 records:

Saitama Seibu Lions (80-62-1):

  • Daisuke Matsuzaka, RHP: You read that right. Dice-K is still chugging along. The now-39-year-old veteran pitched just 5 1/3 innings for the Chunichi Dragons last year due to a shoulder injury that, according to the Japan Times, was caused by an excited fan grabbing/yanking his arm (seriously). Matsuzaka was NPB’s comeback player of the year in 2018 and is returning to the Lions, his original club, for the first time since 2006.
  • Cory Spangenberg, INF/OF: Primarily an infielder during his big league career, Spangenberg is listed as an outfielder by the Lions. The former No. 10 overall pick (Padres, 2011) hit .256/.318/.389 in six MLB campaigns before signing with the Lions back in December. He’ll make his NPB debut once play begins.
  • Sean Nolin, LHP: Signed the same day as Spangenberg, the 30-year-old Nolin is also slated for his NPB debut. A once highly touted pitching prospect, he’s perhaps best known for being part of the Athletics’ disappointing return for Josh Donaldson. Nolin has a 6.89 ERA in 31 1/3 innings, a 3.61 mark in 231 2/3 Triple-A frames and a long injury history. Japan could be a fresh start for the lefty.
  • Zach Neal, RHP: The 31-year-old Neal has a 4.94 ERA in 85 2/3 big league frames — one as a Dodger and the rest with the A’s. He logged 100 innings with the Lions last year and turned in a shiny 2.87 ERA, which his camp hoped would lead to MLB interest. Neal’s 4.6 K/9 in NPB didn’t turn many head, though, and whatever offers he received from MLB teams didn’t top the two-year, $4MM deal he signed to return to the Lions. He’ll be in NPB through the 2021 season, at the least.
  • Reed Garrett, RHP: The longtime Rangers farmhand was the Tigers’ Rule 5 pick in the 2018-19 offseason. He tossed 15 1/3 shaky innings before being returned to the Texas org. The 27-year-old will hope to follow similar paths to those of Chris Martin, Joely Rodriguez and other relievers who’ve thrived overseas and returned to MLB on multi-year deals.

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (76-62-5):

  • Tsuyoshi Wada, LHP: Wada, 39, signed with the Orioles back in 2011 but never pitched there due to injury. He latched on with the Cubs for the 2014-15 seasons, though, and tossed 101 2/3 innings of 3.36 ERA ball before returning to Japan. He was excellent in his 2016 return but has battled injuries since. He logged a 3.90 ERA in 57 2/3 frames when healthy last year.
  • Matt Moore, LHP: Moore surprised quite a few people by signing in Japan this winter, but the $3.5MM guarantee and $2.5MM worth of incentives he secured may well have been more than a team would’ve paid him coming off a season lost to knee surgery. Heralded as a potential ace at his prospect peak, Moore impressed with the Rays from 2011-13 but never fully regained his form after 2014 Tommy John surgery.
  • Rick van den Hurk, RHP: Now 35 years old, Van Den Hurk hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2012. That’s due largely to his emergence as a high-end starter in the KBO from 2012-13, and the success he enjoyed there led him to his current starring role with the Hawks. Over the past four years, the Dutch righty has a 3.50 ERA and nearly 10 strikeouts per nine innings through 483 frames.
  • Dennis Sarfate, RHP: It’s been more than a decade since Sarfate last pitched in the big leagues, but the righty hasn’t felt any inclination to return. He’s one of the all-time great relievers in NPB, having pitched to an immaculate 1.57 ERA with 234 saves, 11.9 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 since arriving in 2011. Not bad for a former ninth-rounder with a 4.53 ERA in 119 MLB innings!
  • Wladimir Balentien, OF: Yes — the Hawks’ roster is a veritable who’s who of obscure, 2009-era big leaguers. Balentien last saw MLB action in ’09, and like Sarfate, he’s become a star in Asia. Balentien spent nine years mashing for the Yakult Swallows, as evidenced by a .273/.378/.558 slash and a whopping 288 home runs to date in NPB. The Hawks shelled out a two-year, $10MM deal — considerable money in Japan — to sign the 35-year-old.
  • Alfredo Despaigne, OF and Carter Stewart. RHP*: Neither player has ever appeared in MLB, but both are known names. Despaigne is one of the most prolific sluggers in the history of the Cuban National Series, and the 33-year-old has continued to rake in Japan. Stewart was a first-round pick who opted not to sign with the Braves in 2018 after concerns arose in his physical. He instead signed a six-year, $6.2MM deal to head to Japan. He spent last year in the Hawks’ developmental/minor league but could make his NPB debut in 2020.

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles (71-68-4):

  • Kazuhisa Makita, RHP: The submariner’s two-year deal with the Padres didn’t pan out as hoped, and Makita is back in NPB for the 2020 season. He previously starred for the Lions, logging a 2.83 ERA in seven seasons of relief work, and could have another few good years in his NPB career at age 35.
  • JT Chargois, RHP: A second-round pick by the Twins in 2012, Chargois dealt with injuries and never solidified himself either in Minnesota or with the Dodgers. He’s been lights out in his minor league career (1.90 ERA in Triple-A) but hasn’t come close to that in the Majors (4.58 in 76 2/3 innings). The 29-year-old will make his NPB debut in 2020.
  • Alan Busenitz, RHP: Another former Twins reliever, Busenitz gave Minnesota 31 2/3 frames of 1.99 ERA ball as a rookie but posted some troubling peripheral marks. He indeed regressed the following season, when he was hammered for an ERA and FIP north of 7.00. Busenitz dominated for the Eagles last year, though, recording a 1.69 ERA with 7.7 K/9 against 3.4 BB/9. He’s still only 29, so perhaps an eventual MLB return can’t be ruled out.
  • Zelous Wheeler, INF: Wheeler had a quick cup of coffee with the 2014 Yankees and left for Japan the next year. He’s hit .262/.339/.459 in five seasons with the Eagles. He’s coming off a bit of a down year, having batted .243/.320/.418 last year.
  • Jabari Blash, OF: Known for his light-tower power in the U.S., Blash never found his footing in the big leagues but looks like a potential star in Japan. He bashed 33 homers last year while hitting .261/.397/.540 in his NPB debut with the Eagles. He signed a one-year deal to return to them this past winter, but perhaps he’ll eventually consider an MLB return.
  • Stefen Romero, OF: The former Mariner, 31, hit a combined .268/.332/.494 with the Orix Buffaloes from 2017-19 before signing with the Eagles this offseason. If he continues to produce in NPB, there’s a chance that Romero, like Blash, could stage a big league comeback.

Chiba Lotte Marines (69-70-4):

  • Leonys Martin, OF: Among the most recognizable players on this list, the 32-year-old Martin hit .244/.301/.367 in nearly 2800 plate appearances spread across five teams. He joined NPB midway through the 2019 season, hitting .232/.342/.495 for the Marines. He re-upped in December and will spend his first full season in Japan this year.
  • Frank Herrmann, RHP: A former Indians and Phillies hurler, the soon-to-be 36-year-old Herrmann has spent three seasons with the Eagles. He’s emerged as a key member of the bullpen, notching a tidy 2.59 ERA with better than a strikeout per inning in 145 2/3 frames. Herrmann also picked up 18 saves in 2018.
  • Jay Jackson, RHP: Jackson, 32, starred for the Hiroshima Carp from 2016-18 before making a big league comeback with the Brewers in 2019. He tossed 30 2/3 frames and logged a 4.45 ERA with the Brewers last year, but is on his way back to NPB — presumably for a solid payday given his prior excellence there (176 innings, 2.10 ERA, 9.8 K/9, 3.5 BB/9).
  • Brandon Laird, INF: Laird, 32, made the jump to Japan in 2015 and hasn’t looked back. His on-base numbers aren’t much to look at, but he’s a consistent power threat who spent four years with the Fighters and is entering his second with the Marines. In 2781 plate appearances in NPB, Laird has batted .241/.314/.480 with 163 long balls.

Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters (65-73-5):

  • Nick Martinez, RHP: Things never really clicked for Martinez in four years with the Rangers’ big league club. He turned in a 3.51 ERA in 161 2/3 frames with the Fighters in his NPB debut in 2018, though, and returned on a $2.2MM deal for 2019. Injuries limited him to four innings last year, and the 29-year-old Martinez will again suit up for the Fighters on a one-year pact in 2020.
  • Drew VerHagen, RHP: The big 6’6″ righty spent parts of six seasons with the Tigers and was with Detroit up through last season. VerHagen, 29, has a 5.11 ERA in 199 MLB innings but will look for better results overseas.
  • Christian Villanueva, INF: Last year’s debut campaign didn’t go as Villanueva or his team, the Yomiuri Giants, hoped. The 28-year-old former Cubs prospect hit just .223/.325/.386 in 73 games. The league still had some faith, though, as Villanueva signed a new deal with the Fighters this winter. He does have a career .263/.328/.457 slash in Triple-A, so perhaps a second go-around in NPB will be more fruitful.
  • Bryan Rodriguez, RHP and Po-Jung Wang, OF*: Neither has played in the Majors, but Rodriguez came into his own in Japan last year. The former Padres prospect posted a 3.25 ERA in 91 innings of relief — albeit with a lackluster 5.4 K/9 mark. Wang, meanwhile, was one of the best hitters in Tawain’s CPBL before inking a three-year, $3.554MM deal with the Fighters last year. The first year was a flop (.647 OPS), but if the 26-year-old can tap into his CPBL form (.386/.455/.646), he might be a name for MLB clubs to monitor.

Orix Buffaloes (61-75-7):

  • Adam Jones, OF: Jones shocked baseball fans when he took a two-year, $8MM deal to join the Buffaloes last December. The 34-year-old is easily the most decorated big leaguer on this list, but he found last year’s trip through free agency rather disappointing, landing only a one-year, $3MM deal with the D-backs. Perhaps not wanting to languish for another season as MLB clubs viewed him as a part-time player, Jones took a nice payday overseas and will bring some legitimate star power to the last-place Buffaloes.
  • Andrew Albers, LHP: Albers, 34, had a solid big league run from 2013-17, posting a 4.10 ERA in 120 MLB frames. He was outstanding with Orix in 2018 (3.08 ERA in 114 innings), which he parlayed into a two-year, $4.5MM extension. Year one of that deal didn’t go well (5.83 ERA in 63 innings), but he’ll look to bounce back in year two.
  • Brandon Dickson, RHP: Dickson pitched 14 2/3 innings with the 2011-12 Cardinals but left  for the Buffaloes in 2013. He’s become a staple on the pitching staff, logging a combined 3.32 ERA through 856 2/3 innings as a Buffalo.
  • Steven Moya, OF: Once one of the Tigers’ best prospects, Moya had a nice debut with the Chunichi Dragons in 2018 (.301/.347/.441) but struggled with both the Dragons and the Buffaloes in 2019. Still just 28 years old, he’ll hope to bounce back in his third season overseas.

Former Big Leaguers Playing Abroad: NPB Hitters Roundup

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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 the KBO, the top league in South Korea. Now we’re headed to Japan to examine Nippon Professional Baseball, generally considered the highest-grade league outside of North America. 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 some interesting NPB hitters …

  • Infielder Brandon Laird was never able to carve out a steady MLB job, but has found a home in NPB. This year, he slashed a healthy .248/.333/.483 with 32 dingers in 553 plate appearances for the Chiba Lotte Marines. He was joined mid-season by Leonys Martin, who found some NPB success of his own after being cut loose by Indians. Over 228 plate appearances, Martin slashed .232/.342/.495 with 14 home runs. The good vibes were not there for former Twins slugger Kennys Vargas, who turned in an oddball .179/.324/.274 slash line with one home run and 16 walks through 102 plate appearances at NPB’s top level.
  • Appearing for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, former Padres and Angels outfielder Jabari Blash finally turned his talent into production at a top level of play. In 527 trips to the plate, he slashed .261/.397/.540 with 33 homers. The 30-year-old could at some point be a candidate to attempt a MLB return. Teammate Zelous Wheeler, briefly of the Yankees, batted .243/.320/.418 with 19 home runs. That’s a fair bit shy of Wheeler’s first four seasons with the Golden Eagles, during which time he delivered a collective OPS north of .800.
  • Believe it or not, another short-lived Yankee whose name begins with Z also contributed to a NPB club. Zoilo Almonte only received 174 plate appearances at the top league level for the Chunichi Dragons, but slashed a robust .329/.362/.506 in that time. The Dragons also get nice output from Dayan Viciedo, the 30-year-old former White Sox outfielder, who went for a .315/.374/.496 slash in 594 plate appearances. Viciedo has uncovered previously absent on-base ability in Japan and could perhaps be of interest to big league clubs once his current deal expires in 2021, though he’ll be 32 at that point.
  • Former Mariners outfielder Stefen Romero appeared again with the ORIX Buffaloes. He bounced back from a down 2018 to post 331 plate appearances of .305/.363/.539 hitting and slugged 18 homers. Romero never showed much of a spark in brief MLB action but was a productive hitter coming up through the minor-league ranks. He’ll soon turn 31 years of age. Otherwise, Chris Marrero couldn’t capitalize on his chances with the Buffaloes, managing only a .211/.256/.317 output over 133 plate appearances. Former Tigers outfielder Steven Moya wasn’t much better after an early-season trade to ORIX from the Chunichi Dragons, with a .244/.278/.397 slash in 255 trips to the dish.
  • Wladimir Balentien made his annual assault on NPB hurlers, launching 33 home runs in 468 plate appearances and turning in a hefty .280/.363/.554 overall output. The Curacaoan slugger seems content with the Yakult Swallows, having been with them for nine years. Despite his perennial dominance — Balentien is a career .273/.378/.558 hitter with 288 home runs in Japan — he’s now 35 years of age, so it seems unlikely he’ll seek a move back stateside. Likewise, Nori Aoki is likely settled back in his native land after wrapping up a generally successful big league tenure. But it’s worth noting that he’s still a capable performer at 37 years of age, having just slashed .297/.385/.442 in 565 plate appearances for the Swallows.
  • Kosuke Fukudome had a similar career arc to that of Aoki, but his production slipped to .256/.347/.397 this season — his age-42 campaign and seventh with the Hanshin Tigers since returning to Japan. The Tigers received better results out of Jefry Marte, formerly of the Tigers and Angels. Marte put up a nice .284/.381/.444 batting line in 412 plate appearances. Other notable names had less of an impact: Yangervis Solarte had a forgettable 20-game stint, while Efren Navarro struggled through 15 games with the organization’s main club.
  • After wrapping up a combustible MLB tenure, former Dodgers infielder Alex Guerrero has settled in with the Yomiuri Giants. He hit .237/.337/.526 with 21 dingers in 333 plate appearances this year and just hit a big postseason home run. Fellow former NL West infielder Christian Villanueva struggled with Japan’s Giants, managing only a .223/.325/.386 slash over 235 plate appearances.
  • It has been quite a while since we’ve seen Jose Lopez stateside (2012), but he is still going in Japan. The Yokohama DeNA BayStars slugger launched 31 long balls and slashed .241/.295/.461 this year, a step back from his recent output.
  • Lopez’s teammate, Neftali Soto, was once a prospect in the Reds organization but has found a home with the BayStars. In his second season with them, the infielder slashed .269/.348/.554 with 43 long balls — his second straight 40-homer campaign. One-time Cubs farmhand Xavier Batista has emerged with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp. In the just-completed season, he turned in 423 plate appearances with 26 home runs, slashing a sturdy .269/.350/.513 on the season. Former Braves prospect Ernesto Mejia has carved out a career in Japan, but he followed a tepid 2018 showing with a subpar .211/.286/.422 effort in 147 plate appearances with the Saitama Seibu Lions.
  • From the what might’ve been department, a pair of Cuban sluggers that never played in affiliated ball have been monsters for the Fukuoka SoftBank Haws. Alfredo Despaigne knocked 36 dingers and slashed .259/.355/.520 over 519 plate appearances, while Yurisbel Gracial turned in an eye-opening performance with 410 plate appearances of .319/.365/.595 hitting and 28 homers.
  • While he received at least some MLB consideration when posted by his Taiwanese club, and landed with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters for a reasonably significant commitment, outfielder Wang Po-Jung had a forgettable first season in Japan. The 26-year-old slashed just .255/.321/.327 in 355 plate appearances.

NPB/KBO Signings: Moya, Noesi, Bernadina, Paredes

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The free-agent market in Major League Baseball may be crawling along at an all-time slow pace, but there are plenty of recognizable former big league names landing contracts overseas. Here’s the latest group of names signing (or re-signing, in some cases) contracts in Nippon Professional Baseball and in the Korea Baseball Organization…

  • Former Tigers outfielder Steven Moya is headed to Japan on a one-year deal with the Chunichi Dragons, as Emily Waldon of The Athletic and 2080ball.com (Twitter link). The Jackson Management Group client was long considered one of the Tigers’ more promising farmhands but struggled in multiple big league auditions from 2014-16, hitting .250/.293/.452 in 133 plate appearances. The 26-year-old Moya struggled in Double-A and Triple-A this season but hit .284/.310/.501 in Triple-A as recently as 2016.
  • The KBO champion Kia Tigers announced that they’ve re-signed right-hander Hector Noesi, outfielder Roger Bernadina and left-hander Pat Dean to 2018 contracts (link via Jee-ho Yoo of the Yonhap News Agency). Noesi will earn $2MM with the Tigers next year, while Bernadina will earn $1.1MM and Dean will take home $925K. Noesi, 30, struggled through nearly 400 MLB innings from 2011-15 but has carved out a niche for himself as a high-quality starter in Korea, where he’s posted consecutive 200-inning seasons with a 3.44 ERA and a better than 3-to-1 K/BB ratio. Bernadina, who spent parts of six seasons with the Nationals, belted 27 homers with a .913 OPS last year in the KBO. Dean, a former Twins third-round pick who pitched 67 innings for Minnesota in 2016, pitched to a 4.14 ERA with 7.3 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9 in 176 innings out of the Tigers’ rotation in 2017.
  • Former MLB infielder Jimmy Paredes has a deal with the KBO’s Doosan Bears (also per Yoo). The 29-year-old will take home an $800K bonus in his first KBO season. Paredes hit .251/.286/.369 in parts of six big league seasons between the Astros, Orioles, Royals, Phillies and Blue Jays from 2011-16 before latching on with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball last season. Paredes struggled in his first run through NPB, but he’ll hope to more closely replicate his lifetime .301/.338/.461 Triple-A batting line in his first season with the Bears in 2018.

Steven Moya Clears Waivers

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March 31: Moya went unclaimed on waivers, reports Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link), meaning he can now be sent outright to Triple-A and remain in the organization without occupying a spot on the 40-man roster. Indeed, the Tigers have announced that’s just what they’ve done.

March 29, 2:29pm: Moya is actually on outright waivers, not release waivers, Stark clarifies on Twitter. Regardless, he’s departing the 40-man roster and can be taken by another organization. If he does clear waivers, though, Detroit would be able to retain control.

2:20pm: The Tigers have placed outfielder Steven Moya on release waivers, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark (via Twitter). The move provides some clarity to the organization’s outfield situation and also clears a 40-man spot.

Moya, who’s still just 25, entered the season without any options remaining, so it was a make-or-break spring. The former organizational top prospect failed to impress, however, hitting just .192/.208/.288.

Long considered a risky prospect, showing big power but a suspect on-base approach as he climbed the ladder, Moya has seen his star fade of late. He has failed to show much at all in his brief time in the majors, slashing .250/.293/.452 with fifty strikeouts and just eight walks in 133 total plate appearances.

Moya did post a .500 slugging percentage in his 100 trips to the MLB plate last year, so there’s plenty of reason to believe the power will play at the game’s highest level. And he lowered his strikeout rate to 22.5% in his 426 Triple-A plate appearances in 2016, though he also walked just 3.5% of the time and managed only a .310 OBP.

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