The Rakuten Monkeys of Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) have signed a contract with former U.S. major league southpaw pitcher Brandon Waddell to play for the league in 2023, the club said on Saturday.
The 28-year-old left-hander was a fifth-round choice by the Pittsburgh Pirates at the 2015 draft before making a total of 11 game appearances for four different clubs at the major league level.
He pitched for the Pirates in 2020 and then played for the Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals in 2021.
Waddell also has experience playing in Asia. He played in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) for the Doosan Bears last year, replacing ex-KBO MVP and former big leaguer Ariel Miranda in the middle of the season. Miranda was reportedly suffering from health issues in his left shoulder.
During Waddell’s stint with the Bears, he made 11 starts out of 11 game appearances to claim a 5-3 record and an ERA of 3.60.
The Korea JoongAng Daily reported in July that Waddell will earn US$200,000 in guaranteed salary for the rest of the season, with up to US$30,000 in incentives also up for grabs by playing for the Bears.
Waddell is one of two foreign pitchers currently on the Monkeys’ roster, the other being 33-year-old American right-hander Bradin Hagens, who has been with the club since 2021. Hagens also has previous experience playing in the major league after pitching two games for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2014.
Monkeys General Manager Pu Wei-ching (???) said Waddell is likely to be a starting pitcher and both players are currently undergoing procedures to come to Taiwan. Pu added that he hopes they will be able to report to the club in early February.
The Monkeys finished the 2022 CPBL season on top of the five-team full regular season standings with a 70-4-46 card but lost the Taiwan Series in a four-game consecutive defeat to the defending champion CTBC Brothers.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel