CPBL Foreign Players Updates Volume #249
CTBC Brothers News: Andy Otero
On August 22, overseas journalists Yasilka Córdoba and Aime Rivas reported that the Milwaukee Brewers minor prospect Andy Otero is heading to Taiwan.
The next day, on August 23, the CTBC Brothers officially announced the signing of Andy Otero from Triple-A. According to the team, the 30-year-old Panamanian left-hander is set to arrive in Taiwan around early September.
“We have seen some of Andy Otero’s pitching videos. He doesn’t have an overpowering fastball, but he is not afraid to throw inside the plate,” said the Brothers’ manager.
Andy Otero began his professional career in 2009 with the Atlanta Braves system, but he never went beyond High-A and was let go by the Braves in 2016.
After leaving affiliated baseball, he was somewhat active in the Latin American Winter Leagues and even got a chance to represent his home country Panama in the Caribbean Series.
In 2021, Andy Otero returned to the MLB system and joined the Milwaukee Brewers organisation. And this time, he managed to advance further within the minor leagues and split most of his time between Double-A and Triple-A.
Prior to his signing with the CTBC Brothers, Andy Otero posted a 3.41 ERA and 1.28 WHIP over 34.1 innings with the Brewers’ Triple-A team.
Actuación de Andy Otero frente a Venezuela.
5.1 IP
5H
0C
1BB
3K#ASeguirVolandoRD #DominicanoSoy #PorLa21RD #RumboALa21 #SerieDelCaribe2021 pic.twitter.com/aBzMf2h34h— Águilas Cibaeñas (@aguilascibaenas) February 3, 2021
Further Readings
Foreign players come and goes, therefore we compiled a foreign players tracker to keep track of all the foreign players signing for the 2022 CPBL season.
I recently noticed that Francisco Pena appears to be contributing to the Brothers as one of their catchers. His .704 OPS in 131 plate appearances is decent for a catcher, and he has thrown out 47% of attempted base steals (8 out of 17 attempts). Catchers are kind of like pitchers, in that almost every team can use another catcher, since they get hurt a lot.
Former MLBer Bruce Maxwell had a strong season in the Mexican League this season at age 31. He’d be a good candidate for the CPBL, except that he has a gun charge in his past that might bar interest.
Francisco Pena is in an awkward place right now. Because if he is a domestic player, he is awesome, but he is a foreign player.
I think the Brothers might let him go before the trade deadline for a foreign pitcher. (Just guessing here).
NPB and KBO teams have generally been very reluctant to sign foreign catchers because of fears of in-game communication problems with pitchers. Whether the Brothers keep Pena may come down to how well the team thinks he is working with pitchers he’s catching. For example, if he is a good pitch-framer, that would probably keep him on the team. Catchers are worth more than any other position player, at least when they are healthy and in the line-up.