CPBL Foreign Players Updates Volume #437
Rakuten Monkeys News: Ronnie Dawson
On June 24, the Lexington Legends of the Atlantic League announced on social media that the Rakuten Monkeys had purchased the contract of Ronnie Dawson.
A few hours later, the Rakuten Monkeys officially confirmed the signing. According to the team, if everything goes smoothly, the 31-year-old American outfielder is expected to arrive in Taiwan around mid-July.
“The overall offence of our lineup hasn’t been very good so far this season, so we decided to sign a foreign hitter in the hope of boosting our firepower. Ronnie Dawson has previous KBO experience, which should help him adjust more quickly to playing in Taiwan,” the Monkeys’ manager told ETtoday.
Ronnie Dawson began his professional career in 2016 in the Houston Astros system. He eventually made his MLB debut in 2021 and returned for another brief stint in the majors the following year with the Cincinnati Reds. Across the 2021 and 2022 MLB seasons, Ronnie Dawson made just 9 plate appearances and recorded 1 hit.
After leaving affiliated baseball, Ronnie Dawson joined the Atlantic League in 2023. He slashed .282/.363/.512 with 13 home runs in 64 games, a performance that ultimately earned him a mid-season contract with the Kiwoom Heroes in the KBO. Unfortunately, Ronnie Dawson’s time in Korea was cut short in July 2024 after he tore his ACL in an outfield collision with a teammate. Across the 2023 and 2024 KBO seasons, Ronnie Dawson slashed .332/.399/.488 with 14 home runs over 152 games and 690 plate appearances.
After spending nearly a year rehabbing the injury, Ronnie Dawson returned to the field in 2025 and rejoined the Atlantic League with the Lexington Legends. Before signing with the Rakuten Monkeys, Ronnie Dawson was one of the Lexington Legends’ top hitters, slashing .315/.386/.581 with 8 home runs across 140 plate appearances.
With the signing of Ronnie Dawson, the Rakuten Monkeys currently have Pedro Fernández (2-year deal), Kyle Marman, Tyler Eppler and Sakakibara Motoki as their group of foreign players for the 2026 CPBL season.
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 2026 CPBL season.