CPBL Foreign Players Updates Volume #308
Fubon Guardias News: Nivaldo Rodríguez
On January 15, the Fubon Guardians announced the signing of 26-year-old Venezuelan right-hander Nivaldo Rodríguez. According to the team, he is set to arrive in Taiwan around February.
Nivaldo Rodríguez began his professional career with the Houston Astros in 2016 and made his MLB debut in 2020. During his two brief big league seasons, he compiled a 4.50 ERA and 1.81 WHIP over 16 innings. His final season in affiliated baseball was in 2022, pitching in Triple-A within the Detroit Tigers organisation.
After leaving the MLB system, Nivaldo Rodríguez went on to play in the American Association, Venezuelan Winter League and the Mexican League.
In 2023, Nivaldo Rodríguez played for the Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican League. In over 17 games, he posted a stellar 2.76 ERA and 1.18 WHIP over 94.2 innings.
Leading up to the signing with the Guardians, Nivaldo Rodríguez was active in the Venezuelan Winter League, where he compiled a 4.74 ERA across 43.2 innings.
According to a small sample size data on Baseball Savant, between the 2020 and 2021 MLB season, Nivaldo Rodríguez throws a 4-seam faster, sinker, slider, changeup and curveball.
Further Readings
Foreign players come and go. Therefore, we have compiled a tracker to monitor all foreign player signings for the 2024 CPBL season.
Rodriguez seemed like an obvious CPBL candidate after a strong 2023. Given his age, strong performance in Taiwan could mean a KBO or NPB shot.