CPBL Foreign Players Updates Volume #391
CTBC Brothers News: Mario Sanchez
On June 20, the CTBC Brothers announced the release of Mario Sanchez, the 30-year-old Venezuelan right-hander who had been sidelined since April 30 after leaving the game early with a right shoulder injury.
Note: Technically, this is not a release but a de-registration from the active roster. This means Mario Sanchez can no longer appear on the CPBL first team for the remainder of the 2025 season, although he remains eligible to play in the CPBL minor league.
CTBC Brothers’ Mario Sanchez exited the game early due to right shoulder discomfort. According to the team, he will undergo further medical examination. pic.twitter.com/9JOXLKNeoH
— CPBL STATS (Taiwan Dark Lemon) 🪬🔮 (@GOCPBL) May 1, 2025
During his time on the injured list, Mario Sanchez underwent PRP injection treatment, but his condition failed to improve. With no clear timetable for his return, the CTBC Brothers have decided to de-register him from the roster.
“Right now, there is nothing we can do about Mario Sanchez. We need to make room on our roster for the second half of the season,” said the Brothers’ pitching coach, Wang Chien-Ming. “As for any plans regarding Mario Sanchez, we will discuss it with him and see how the team can help going forward.”
According to a Liberty Sports article from March 2025, the CTBC Brothers signed Mario Sanchez to a two-year contract. At this stage, it remains unclear how the CTBC Brothers plan to handle the situation.
Despite his season being cut short due to injury, Mario Sanchez finished the 2025 season with an impressive 1.54 ERA and 0.81 WHIP over 23.1 innings.
With the release of Mario Sanchez, the CTBC Brothers’ current foreign player group consists of José De Paula (shoulder/arm inflammation), Humberto Castellanos, Nivaldo Rodriguez, and Nolan Watson and Brandon Leibrandt.
CTBC Brothers’ Mario Sanchez struck out 11 over 8 scoreless innings. pic.twitter.com/5jQKJdDFYS
— CPBL STATS (Taiwan Dark Lemon) 🪬🔮 (@GOCPBL) April 16, 2025
Further Readings
Foreign players come and go. Therefore, we have compiled a foreign player tracker, and I’ll be updating that list regularly to keep pace with the ever-changing roster shuffle throughout the 2025 CPBL season.
Unfortunately, CPBL teams don’t sign pitchers out of the American Association — right now 26 year old righty Konnor Ash is looking very good. He got cut by the Phillies after what was a strong season at AA Reading at age 25.
I still like 29 year old Shawn Semple as a late season add out of the Atlantic League. I’m sure he would not cost a CPBL team much at this stage of his career. He’s pitched poorly at AAA, but his AA line suggests he might be a successful CPBL pitcher.