CPBL Foreign Players Updates Volume #361
Uni-Lions News: C.C. Mercedes
On December 30, NOWnews reported that several CPBL teams were targeting C.C. Mercedes, with the Uni-Lions emerging as the front-runner. At the time, the team declined to comment further on the rumour but admitted that their list of foreign player candidates included individuals with NPB experience.
Fast forward to January 7, the Uni-Lions officially announced the signing of 30-year-old Dominican left-hander C.C. Mercedes for the 2025 CPBL season. In an interview with NOWnews, the Uni-Lions’ general manager revealed they had been in contact with Mercedes since November last year.
CC Mercedes began his professional career with the Tampa Bay Rays organisation, but his progress was limited. Between 2012 and 2015, he only reached as far as Low-A before being released.
In 2016, CC Mercedes joined the Hiroshima Toyo Carp’s baseball academy in the Dominican Republic but was let go by the Carp at the end of the year. Shortly afterwards, he attended a tryout with the Yomiuri Giants and earned himself a development contract in 2017.
After spending a year and a half in the NPB minor league, the Giants converted Mercedes’ development contract into a standard contract. He made his NPB debut in July 2018 against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, pitching five scoreless innings and recording his first career NPB win.
Over the next seven seasons, CC Mercedes became a consistent presence in NPB, pitching for the Yomiuri Giants and later the Chiba Lotte Marines. In a span of 126 NPB games, he started 124 times and logged a total of 709.1 innings with a 3.10 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP.
In the 2024 season, his final year in NPB, Mercedes started 21 games and posted a 2.71 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP over 126.1 innings. Despite his solid performance, the Chiba Lotte Marines chose not to renew his contract for 2025 for unclear reasons.
C.C. Mercedes Pitching Repertoire
According to a few NPB scouting reports, CC Mercedes relies primarily on his fastball, complemented by a slider and curveball as his main breaking pitches. He also throws a changeup, though it is largely a rare situational pitch. By foreign player standards, Mercedes isn’t known for overpowering velocity or high strikeout rates. Instead, he relies on precise pitch location to induce contact and get batters to put the ball in play for outs.
Uni-Lions Other Re-Signing Progress Update
With the signing of C.C. Mercedes, the Uni-Lions currently have him and Yohander Méndez as their foreign players.
The Uni-Lions’ general manager said they are close to finalising a deal with Brock Dykxhoorn. As for Mario Sanchez, the team have apparently offered him a contract already, but Sanchez said he would like to wait a bit longer to see if there is any possibility of returning to the MLB system with a minor league deal.
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 2025 CPBL season.