CPBL Foreign Players Updates Volume #428
Uni-Lions News: Denyi Reyes
On January 26, the Uni-Lions announced the signing of 29-year-old Dominican right-hander Denyi Reyes for the 2026 CPBL season. According to the team, Reyes is expected to report to spring training around mid-February.
Denyi Reyes began his professional career in 2015 with the Boston Red Sox organisation and made his MLB debut in 2022. Between 2022 and 2023, he saw action in the majors with the Orioles and Mets, compiling a 6.26 ERA and 1.53 WHIP over 27.1 innings. At the end of the 2023 season, he elected free agency and left the MLB system.
Over the next year and a half, Denyi Reyes pitched in the KBO with the Samsung Lions. Unfortunately, he was unable to stay healthy for two full seasons. Midway through his second season in Korea, he was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his right foot, which ultimately led to his release. From 2024 to 2025, Reyes appeared in 36 games, posting a 3.90 ERA and 1.30 WHIP over 194 innings.
According to data from Baseball Savant, Denyi Reyes features a 6-pitch mix: a four-seam fastball, slider, cutter, changeup, sinker, and curveball. Online KBO scouting reports note that one of his go-to pitches is a slider with significant horizontal movement (a sweeper?), which he used more than 30% of the time.
With the signing of Denyi Reyes, the Uni-Lions currently have Brock Dykxhoorn (2-year deal), Jackson Stephens and Jordan Balazovic as their group of foreign players for the 2026 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.
I’m still waiting to see if any of Ricardo Sanchez (LHP, age 29), Travis Lakins (RHP, 32) or Jared Wetherbee (LHP, 27) get signed by a CPBL team after very strong Caribbean Winter League performances. Sanchez was the top starter in Venezuela this winter season and has KBO experience, although he wasn’t great in the Mexican League last summer. Lakins is older but pitched better in the Mexican League last summer and has MLB major league experience. Wetherbee pitched well in the American Association last summer, followed by ten strong starts in Mexico this winter — he’d probably be a good low-cost 5th foreign pitcher option.
Aaron Sanchez, the top pitcher in the Dominican Winter League, just signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals. I expected he would sign with an MLB organization in light of his MLB pedigree. I am expecting Jose Urquidy to sign with an MLB organization for the same reason.