CPBL Foreign Players Updates Volume #319
TSG Hawks News: Reymin Guduan
On January 26, the TSG Hawks announced the signing of Reymin Guduan. According to the team, the 31-year-old Dominican left-hander is likely to be the Hawks closer for the 2024 season.
Reymin Guduan began his professional career with the Houston Astros organisation in 2010 and eventually made his MLB debut in 2017. For the next few seasons, Guduan bounced up and down between MLB and Triple-A, pitching for the Astros and the Athletics. In over 39 innings in MLB, he appeared logged a 7.38 ERA and 1.87 WHIP.
After leaving the MLB system at the end of the 2021 season, Reymin Guduan wound up playing in the Dominican Winter League, Mexican League, and the Frontier League.
In 2023, he joined the Frontier League and posted a 2.25 ERA and 1.20 WHIP over 24 innings as a reliever. Prior to his signing with the TSG Hawks, Reymin Guduan was active in the Dominican Winter League. In 22.2 innings, he registered a 1.99 ERA and 1.01 WHIP.
It is worth noting that back in August 2019, Reymin Guduan was suspended by the Astros for the remainder of that season for a disciplinary issue. Although the Astros did not elaborate further on the reasoning, online rumours suggested a locker room incident between Reymin Guduan and his Triple-A teammate Dean Deetz.
The TSG Hawks general manager told UDN that he is fully aware of this past incident. Once Reymin Guduan arrives in Taiwan, the team will monitor and help him understand the team’s requirements regarding discipline.
As of today, the TSG Hawks have Shōtarō Kasahara, Kento Onodera, Nick Margevicius, Steven Moya and Reymin Guduan as their foreign players for the 2024 CPBL season.
Further Readings
Foreign players come and go. Therefore, we have compiled a tracker to monitor all foreign player signings for the 2024 CPBL season.
Guduan doesn’t look like a bad pitcher, but he’s a pure reliever, not having made a start in 10 years. Not sure why an expansion team could want to use a limited foreign roster spot on a relief pitcher. A foreign pitcher who could play high quality defense at an important defensive position and hit well enough would be a better use of a foreign player slot not used on a starting pitcher.
Yeah, it’s one of those CPBL mysteries we see from time to time where teams wasting their valuable foreign player slot on reliever and hitter. I’m guessing the Hawks will be using him as a stopper at high leverage situations.
I think position players could be valuable if they play good defense and can hit in the CPBL. New pitchers always have a better chance of starting strong than position players because lack of familiarity generally benefits pitchers rather than hitters.
Also, with CPBL teams having two days a week off, and assuming that is still the case with an even six teams now, and frequent rainouts, healthy foreign starters can make 30 starts a season, essentially every fourth day, which gives foreign starters extra value compared to any other foreign player.
I think it makes sense to sign one foreign position player before the start of the season to see if he can tear up the CPBL minor league and step in in the case of injury at the major league level.
Steven Moya is pretty lucky this year, because he will have no pressure for losing his foreign player position to a pitcher, because the expansion rule stated the Hawks’ foreign players can’t be all pitchers or hitters.
I honestly think this should be the rule going forward for all the teams in the league. (2 pitchers and 1 hitter format in 1st team) Having mandatory foreign hitters will make the league a lot more entertaining and it will also force the CPBL teams to spend money to hire better foreign pitcher and to keep younger pitching talent in Taiwan.
If the Hawks have to have a foreign position player, they should sign more than one in case Steven Moya doesn’t hit as hoped. Also, signing 1Bmen is kind of dumb, particularly for an expansion team that is sure to need defensive help. High quality defense doesn’t suffer the way batting does when facing a new league.
Jose Rondon, a position player I liked as a possible 2024 CPBL candidate, just signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets. He’s one of the first players so far to turn a productive 2023-2024 winter league season into an MLB-system contract.