Hu Chih-Wei Heads to Mexican Winter League
According to Mexican media, the Chicago Cubs’ Taiwanese right-hander 胡智為 (Hu Chih-Wei) will head to the Mexican Winter League during the offseason. He will join the Mayos de Navojoa of the Mexican Pacific League (LMP).
Notes: Hu Chih-Wei will become the fourth Taiwanese players to play professional baseball in Mexico.
Los #Mayos contarán con un lanzador taiwanés, Chih-Wei Hu, quien ha lanzado en Grandes Ligas. Además agregan al OF Cade Gotta.https://t.co/g1NbPlhz18
— Bambino Sedano (@bambino_sedano) September 4, 2019
The Minnesota Twins signed Hu Chih-Wei out of Taiwan as an international free agent for $260,000 USD in 2012 and was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2015.
After several seasons in the minor league, Hu eventually made his MLB debut in 2017 for the Rays. From 2017 to 2018, he posted a 3.51 ERA and 0.82 WHIP across 23 innings in the MLB. The Rays traded Hu to the Cleveland Indians at the end of the 2018 season.
Tampa Bay Rays' 胡智為 (Hu Chih-Wei) struck out Brett Gardner and Luke Voit. #MLBTW pic.twitter.com/dLsnthM3Xn
— CPBL STATS (@GOCPBL) September 27, 2018
2019 season has not been kind to the 25-year-old right-hander as the Hu Chih-Wei posted a combined 6.87 ERA and 1.70 WHIP across 74.2 innings in the minor league.
- 52.2 innings in Triple-A
- 20.0 innings in Double-A
Hu Chih-Wei was cut by the Indians organisation in July and was signed by the Chicago Cubs to a minor league contract a few days later. Despite changing to a new organisation, Hu, however, continued to struggle in the minor league.
Other Taiwanese Players Played in Mexico
- 2000 – 李錦華 (Ronnie Lee): Liga Norte de Sonora
- 2008 – 胡金龍 (Hu Chin-Lung): Mexican League
- 2011 – 陳鴻文 (Chen Hung-Wen): Mexican League, Mexican Pacific League
- 2019 – 胡智為 (Hu Chih-Wei): Mexican Pacific League
Further Reading: Mexican League Salary
Here’s an interesting read from Burly’s Baseball Musings on the salary of the Mexican League (LMB) and the Mexican Winter League (LMP).
Thanks for the reference and link. Hu had kind of a rough year at AA and AAA for two MLB organizations this year, and he only pitched 74.2 innings across 23 total appearances and 12 starts. As a result, so long as his arm is healthy, LMP is a great option for him to try to get his groove back and generate interest among MLB clubs if he is released by the Cubs or becomes a minor league free agent this off-season. He’s still young, and his strikeout rate was pretty good this season, so he may just to pitch his way out of his current funk.
From memory, I believe the Indians organisation wanted Hu to change the way he throws his slider and curve ball this season. The idea is to add more vertical movement to it.
That was the information I got back in June. Hopefully he can figure that out during the winter league.