International

Player

Cabbage was cut loose earlier this week by Pittsburgh to pursue an opportunity overseas and will head to Japan in an effort to build up his long-term appeal. The 27-year-old has put up ridiculous power/speed combo numbers at the Triple-A level, but has also struck out a ton in the process, and never quite was able to make it work in the majors.

Duplantier had been with the Braves and Brewers in 2024 but will now head overseas to try to resurrect his professional career.

Muller didn’t fare too badly as a reliever for the A’s last season, but they still DFA’d him in August and he wound up going unclaimed on waivers. Brought back in September, he was again outrighted after the season and became a free agent. The 27-year-old heads to Japan with a 4-11 record and a 5.90 ERA in 24 starts and 30 relief appearances as a major leaguer. He’s a threat to resurface stateside as a superior pitcher in a year or two.

Lambert elected free agency after being designated for assignment at the end of the 2024 season. The 27-year-old is a former top prospect who has struggled considerably at the highest level of play, and he’ll get a chance to revitalize his career overseas.

On paper, this sure seems like a perfect fit. Wisdom was non-tendered by the Cubs near the end of November, but the 33-year-old has been a consistent source of power. He just hasn’t consistently helped anywhere else. A good showing in the KBO could see him return to the states.

Sasaki cited his previous experience with the media in Japan as a reason for a softer landing spot for the 23-year-old. The Dodgers have widely been considered the overwhelming favorite to land the right-hander, but the Dodgers are anything but a small-to-mid market team. It’s been widely reported that the Mariners and Padres are expected to make a big push for Sasaki, and both teams would qualify in that regard. Wolfe didn’t rule out a big team either, and it’d be foolish to eliminate any team from bidding at this point.

Florial was once considered one of the top prospects in baseball, but he’s become just organizational fodder over the past few years. The 27-year-old will have a chance to reestablish his stock with a strong season in the KBO.

Ogasawara will now have 30 days to sign with an MLB team. The 27-year-old is often compared to Shota Imanaga because of his ability to command above-average stuff, and while he doesn’t have the ceiling of a Roki Sasaki or Yoshinobu Yamamoto, his ability to come in as a high-floor hurler will obviously draw plenty of interest from major-league suitors.

Well, that was fast. It turns out Baumann did have something lined up overseas. The 29-year-old reliever will take his talents to Japan in an effort to rebuild his long-term value after making 57 relief appearances last year between the Orioles, Mariners, Giants, Angels and Marlins, finishing with a pedestrian 5.55 ERA, 1.49 WHIP and 58/28 K/BB ratio across 58 1/3 innings.

“We should be very legitimate contenders,” Shildt added before expressing confidence that Sasaki will ultimately wind up being a Padre. The 23-year-old prodigy was officially posted at the outset of the Winter Meetings and has until January 23 to reach an agreement with a major-league club. He’s universally-regarded as one of the most promising international pitching prospects in recent decades with both the Padres and Dodgers seen as the favorites to sign him. He’s limited to signing as an international free agent due to his age, so it’s likely going to come down to long-term organizational fit more than financial reasons. Regardless of where he winds up, he projects to make some serious noise for fantasy managers as early as next year.