CPBL Foreign Players Updates Volume #84
Uni-Lions News: Eyeing New Foreign Pitcher
With Josh Roenicke, Ryan Verdugo injured and Austin Bibens-Dirkx and Chinen Kohya struggling, the Uni-Lions are now in the market for a new foreign pitcher.
At first, the team were considering to sign a foreign positional player. However, with the recent Josh Roenicke’s injury, the team decided to bring in a foreign pitcher instead.
“We locked in on a few potential candidates, but nothing is set in stone yet,” said the Uni-Lions’ general manager.
Josh Roenicke: Injured, 4-6 Weeks
On April 28, Josh Roenicke left the game with an abdominal strain. After further examinations, he is expected to be out for 4-6 weeks and is likely to miss the first-half season.
Prior to the injury, Roenicke has been solid with his performance, posting a 2.93 ERA and 1.21 WHIP over 30.2 innings.
Ryan Verdugo: Injured, Rehab Games
Ryan Verdugo missed the opening day roster with a shoulder injury. He started farm league rehab games on April 19. In his most recent start, Verdugo tossed 50 pitches across 2.2 innings and gave up one earned run.
According to the Uni-Lions’ manager, if Verdugo’s condition is okay and able to throw more than 60 pitches this week, he is likely to be called up next week.
Austin Bibens-Dirkx: Active
Despite his strong debut, Austin Bibens-Dirkx struggled in his last four starts in the CPBL, posting a 6.12 ERA and 1.52 WHIP over 25 innings.
According to the Uni-Lions’ general manager, the team will continue to monitor Bibens-Dirkx in the next few starts. Generally speaking, this suggested that Bibens-Dirkx is on thin ice at the moment.
Chinen Kohya: Demoted to Farm Team
Chinen Kohya made 13 relief appearances in the 2019 season for the Uni-Lions. Unfortunately, he is unable to meet the team’s expectations with a 10.38 ERA and 2.42 WHIP across 8.2 innings.
On April 25, the Uni-Lions demoted Chinen Kohya to the farm team. Many speculate once Ryan Verdugo is healthy enough for the first team, the Uni-Lions is likely to release Chinen Kohya.
Further Readings
Foreign players come and goes, therefore we compiled a foreign players tracker to keep track of all the foreign players signing for the 2019 CPBL season.
Maybe the Uni-Lions will bring Bennett Parry back to the CPBL. He’s back in the Atlantic League and has pitched fairly well in his first two 2019 starts. He’s also still only 27 years old.
I think we might see the Uni-Lions release all the foreign players except Roenicke.
I have a big question mark for Verdugo. Chinen and Bibens-Dirkx are not working out too. Bibens-Dirkx had another bad start last night.
Yes, short term fix definitely get them from the Atlantic League. Bennett Parry, Dave Kubiak and Darin Downs are all worth having a look. That’s if they want to fix the problem short term.
I think the Uni-Lions should give Bibens-Dirkx three or four more starts before giving up on him. Other possible Atlantic League options are Ross Detwiler and Daryl Thompson, both with past MLB major league experience.
Off top of my head I think Ross Detwiler was on the Guardians’ target list before (rumour). I just saw Pat Dean got picked up by the Rockies (Triple-A) today.
As of today, we have the Brothers, Monkeys and Uni-Lions all looking for new foreign pitcher. As for the Guardians, Ryan Bollinger gave up 9 earned runs over 4 innings in his farm team debut today, but since that’s his first farm league game, still need to give him some time to adjust.