Players signed to play overseas (2024)

[Padres]

Andrés Machado has signed with the Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

Machado was granted his release earlier this week to pursue an opportunity overseas and we finally know where he’s headed. The 30-year-old righty wound up making 135 relief appearances for the Nationals over the last three years, finishing with a serviceable 4.03 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 119/54 K/BB ratio across 145 innings of work. He’ll aim to rebuild his value in Japan next year.

https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/andres-machado/48790

[Padres]

Matt Reynolds has signed with the Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

Reynolds heads overseas to Japan after getting into just a pair of contests this past season for Cincinnati. The 32-year-old infielder offers plenty of defensive versatility, but he’s posted a pedestrian .627 OPS in 528 plate appearances at the big league level since 2016. He’ll have an opportunity to earn more in Japan than he would’ve this offseason on a minor league contract.

https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/matt-reynolds/50143

[Padres]

Jake Scheiner has signed with the Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

Scheiner has yet to reach the majors, but launched 30 homers across 124 contests last season for Triple-A Tacoma. The 28-year-old infielder was a fourth-round pick of the Phillies back in 2017.

https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/jake-scheiner/67930

[Padres]

Yonathan Perlaza has signed a one-year contract with the Hanwha Eagles of Korea’s Baseball Organization.

Perlaza will earn $1 million overseas this season in South Korea. The 25-year-old hit .284/.389/.534 with 23 homers and 13 steals across 543 plate appearances with Triple-A Iowa. Despite the impressive numbers, Chicago did not tender him a contract, making him a free agent. If he continues to hit well overseas, he could return to MLB next winter.

https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/yonathan-perlaza/68502

[Padres]

FanSided’s Robert Murray reports free agent right-hander Patrick Murphy has signed with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

Murray adds that it’s a one-year deal with an option for 2025, which also includes performance-based incentives and escalators. The 28-year-old righty made 35 appearances in the majors between the Nationals and Blue Jays since 2020. He didn’t pitch in the majors this past season after signing a minor league contract last December with the Twins. He’ll take his talent overseas to Japan in an effort to build up his long-term value.

https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/patrick-m ... fd607f0024

[Padres]

Robert Dugger has signed a one-year, $750,000 contract with the SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization.

Dugger can earn up to $900,000 through performance-based incentives. The 28-year-old righty takes his talents to Korea after spending this past season in the Rangers’ minor league system. He made four appearances during the 2022 campaign between the Reds and Rays.

https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/robert-du ... fd5f2603bf

[Padres]

Thomas Hatch has signed a contract with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

Hatch’s departure to Japan frees up a spot on Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster. The 29-year-old righty split last season between the Pirates and Blue Jays, finishing with a serviceable 4.08 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and 26/12 K/BB ratio across 28 2/3 innings (18 appearances, two starts). He’ll aim to build up his long-term value overseas after struggling to carve out a permanent role in the big leagues over the last few years.

https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/thomas-hatch/48989

[Padres]

Javy Guerra has signed with the Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

Guerra heads overseas to Japan after making 17 appearances (two starts) this past season between the Rays and Brewers, finishing with a bloated 6.05 ERA, 2.02 WHIP and 14/22 K/BB ratio across 19 1/3 innings of work. The hard-throwing 28-year-old righty has made 61 appearances in the big leagues dating back to 2019.

https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/javy-guerra/50441

[Padres]

Former Yankees reliever Jimmy Cordero is signing with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan.

Cordero was suspended for the final three months of the MLB season for violating the league’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assaults and Child Abuse Policy, and he became a free agent after the Yankees removed him from their 40-man roster last month. It doesn’t seem very likely that he’ll ever pitch in MLB again.

https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/jimmy-cordero/49227

[Padres]

Victor Reyes, who spent last year in Triple-A with the White Sox, is set to sign with the Lotte Giants of Korea.

Reyes is just a tad short of being an adequate reserve outfielder in the majors, and now that he’s 29, additional chances figured to be hard to come by. The switch-hitter came in at .264/.294/.379 in 1,280 plate appearances for the Tigers from 2018-22.

https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/victor-reyes/50139

[Padres]

Albert Abreu is set to sign with the Seibu Lions, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray.

It shouldn’t be coming to this already for Abreu, unless he simply prefers the idea of pitching in Japan. But this is a 28-year-old with a high-90s fastball and a decent enough 4.15 ERA in 97 2/3 innings the last two seasons... some major league team should be willing to offer him guaranteed money. He still has more upside than what we’ve seen thus far.

Albert Abreu has signed with the Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

Abreu will take his talents overseas in an effort to rebuild his long-term value. The 28-year-old righty made a career-high 45 appearances this past season for the Yankees, finishing with a 4.73 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 61/35 K/BB ratio across 59 innings of work.

https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/albert-abreu/49483

[Padres]

Franchy Cordero signed with the Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

The 29-year-old Cordero played 24 games for the Yankees in 2023, hitting just .188/.211/.478 with six home runs but also 25 strikeouts and just two walks. In his seven year MLB career, Cordero hit .217/.283/.395 with 27 home runs in 251 games to go along with a 276/88 K/BB ratio. Cordero joins former Yankees RHP Albert Abreu, who also signed with Seibu yesterday.

https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/franchy-cordero/49228

[Padres]

Félix Peña has re-signed with the Hanwha Eagles in the Korea Baseball Organization.

The 33-year-old right-hander will earn a $650,000 salary, a $200,000 signing bonus and has the ability to earn an additional $200,000 in incentives. Peña made 32 starts with the Eagles in 2023 — going 11-11 with a 3.60 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and a 147/59 K/BB ratio over 177 1/3 innings. He hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since the 2021 season.

https://www.nbcsports.com/felix-pena/00 ... fd86bf022b

[Padres]

Junior Fernández has signed with the Lotte Marines of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

Fernández heads overseas for 2024 after spending all of last season in the minor leagues between the Blue Jays and Nationals. The 26-year-old righty has made 50 career relief appearances in the big leagues since 2019.

https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/junior-fernandez/49847

[Padres]

Miguel Yajure has signed with the Yakult Swallows of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

Yajure was removed from San Francisco’s 40-man roster last offseason and wound up posting a lackluster 6.07 ERA, 1.64 WHIP and 80/38 K/BB ratio across 75 2/3 innings (22 appearances, 19 starts) across three minor league levels. He’s made 19 appearances (four starts) in the big leagues dating back to 2020. The 25-year-old righty will aim to rebuild his long-term value overseas.

https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/miguel-yajure/49935

[Padres]

Taylor Hearn has signed with the Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball.

Hearn takes his talents overseas to Japan where he’ll have an opportunity to re-establish his long-term value. The 29-year-old southpaw bounced around this past season, spending time with the Rangers, Braves and Royals before hitting free agency. He’s made 101 appearances (25 starts) in the majors dating back to 2019.

https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/taylor-hearn/48982

[Padres]

The Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization announced that they have re-signed outfielder Ronnie Dawson, as relayed and translated by Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net. The outfielder will get a $550K salary with $50K of incentives also available.

Dawson, 29 in May, has four games of MLB experience, three with the 2021 Astros and one with the 2022 Reds. In April of 2023, he signed with the Lexington Counter Clocks of the Atlantic League and hit a solid .282/.363/.512 in 64 games for that club.

He was able to parlay that into a job with the Heroes in July, then got into 57 games for that club in the second half. He hit just three home runs but was hard to get out, as he slashed .336/.399/.454. He also stole nine bases while getting caught just twice and lined up defensively in center and left field.

Based on that performance, the Heroes will keep him around for 2024. If Dawson continues to perform well, he could earn himself continued opportunities in Korea or perhaps a jump to Japan or a return to North America down the line.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/12/ ... awson.html

[Padres]

Wes Benjamin has re-signed with the KT Wiz of the Korea Baseball Organization.

Benjamin will take home $1.4 million in his new deal to remain in Korea for 2024. The 30-year-old southpaw last appeared in the big leagues back in 2021. He’s spent the last three seasons overseas in Korea.

https://www.nbcsports.com/wes-benjamin/ ... fdc8950058

[Padres]

Andrew Stevenson is signing with the Nippon Ham Fighters of Japan, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.

The 29-year-old Stevenson had an excellent season with the Twins’ Triple-A club, hitting .317/.394/.522 with 16 homers and 44 steals, but no one was interested in carrying him on the 40-man when he was put on waivers a couple of months ago. In light of that, Japan sure seems like his best option right now. He might reemerge in the majors in a year or two.

https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/andrew-stevenson/50232

[Padres]

Former Marlins left-hander Daniel Castano has signed with the NC Dinos of Korea.

Castano, 29, logged time with the Marlins each of the last four seasons, going 2-7 with a 4.47 ERA in 17 starts and seven relief appearances. He’ll make $850,000 next season.

https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/daniel-castano/49273

[Padres]

Spenser Watkins is expected to sign with a team in Korea this week.

He’s just weighing which one at this point. The 31-year-old Watkins was a useful stopgap for the Orioles in 2022, posting a 4.70 ERA in 20 stars and three relief appearances, but he struggled mightily while bouncing around in Triple-A last season.

https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/spenser-watkins/48209

[Padres]

Shin-Soo Choo will retire following the 2024 season.

There were rumblings last offseason that Choo was considering a return to the majors, but he’s spent the last three years in Korea playing for the SSG Landers. The 41-year-old outfielder spent 16 seasons in the majors between the Rangers, Guardians, Mariners and Reds.

https://www.nbcsports.com/shin-soo-choo ... fd730503c9

[Padres]

Dietrich Enns has signed with the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization.

Enns spent the past two seasons pitching for the Seibu Lions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. The 32-year-old southpaw, who will make $1 million in 2024, has made 11 appearances (one start) in the majors dating back to 2017.

https://www.nbcsports.com/dietrich-enns ... fd8d8100f4

[Padres]

Austin Dean has re-signed with the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization.

Dean spent last season with the Twins as well and will return for another year in Korea. The 30-year-old outfielder last appeared in the majors during the 2022 campaign when he got into three contests for the Giants. He’ll continue playing overseas, where he’ll draw a higher salary, rather than toiling away stateside in the minors.

https://www.nbcsports.com/austin-dean/0 ... fd86bf017a

[Padres]

David MacKinnon has signed with the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization.

The 29-year-old spent the 2022 season in Japan where he hit .263/.331/.420 with 17 homers, 53 RBI and a 91/48 K/BB ratio over 517 plate appearances with the Seibu Lons. Perhaps another strong season in 2024 could pave the way for a potential return stateside.

https://www.nbcsports.com/david-mackinn ... ff1973017f