Update on North American Players in Japan, Part VII: “N”, “O” & “P”

y, September 18 and 19, 2004), the owners agreed to allow an expansion team to keep the Pacific League at six teams.

The new team was the Rakuten Golden Eagles.  Frankly, given the incredible good will, advertizing opportunities and publicity the Japanese major league teams generate, it’s hard to imagine that the owners really had any trouble finding a 12th Japanese corporation to underwrite an expansion team.

Jose made about $1M in each of 20o3 and 20o4, and this was too rich for the new Orix Buffaloes.  However, no other Japanese team picked him up either.

Jose was,  in a sense, a man without a country, at least in the professional sense, because the MLB organizations weren’t interested in him at age 28, and he ended up playing for the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Independent A Atlantic League at the end of that league’s 2005 season.  He had a big year for the Barnstormers in 2006, hitting   .289 with 18 HR’s in 384 AB’s, and was signed by the Chibe Lotte Marines for 2007.

In ‘07, Ortiz hit .284 but with only seven HR’s in 250 AB’s.  In 2008, Ortiz hit .288 with 11 HR’s in 337 AB’s.  The Marines apparently felt he was overpaid (at about $600,000) for those numbers, because Ortiz was released.

He signed with the Hawks for 2009 at about a $100,000 pay cut.  He’s been worth every penny for the Hawks so far, having his best year since at least 2004.  He’s hitting .311 with 12 HR’s in 190 AB’s so far this year.  Given his age and past performance, however, I suspect that ‘09 will be his last really great year in Japan.

Nelson Payano, Chunichi Dragons.  He’s a small, 26 year old Dominican left-hander with good stuff but no history of control.  He played six seasons in the Braves’ minor league system with a brief stint at the Mariners’ AA club at the end of 2008.  His career minor league ERA of 4.17 isn’t impressive, but his 276 K’s in 246 IP gets your attention.

The Dragons signed him to an approximately $140,00o contract for 2009, and he’s been a pleasant surprise for them.  After seven solid but unspectacular appearances at their minor league club, the Dragons called him up, and he’s pitched better at the major league level so far.  In 20 appearances as a left-handed short man, he has a 3.38 ERA with 20 K’s and 9 BB’s in 16 IP.

If he ever finds his control, Payano could be a big star, but you can say that about dozens of pitchers in every professional league everywhere.

Andy Phillips, Hiroshima Toyo Carp.  I posted a short piece about his signing with the Carp on June 26th.  Phillips is a classic 4-A player who the Japanese teams love, but at age 32, he’s looking a little too much like Kevin Mench, who bombed in his brief tenure with the Hanshin Tigers this Spring.

He’s hitting .219 for the Carp in his first eight games (7 for 32), but he has hit two HR’s and a double already.

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