CPBL Foreign Players Updates Volume #444
Fubon Guardians News: AJ Candelario
On August 1, CPBL Stats received an enquiry on social media from a Mexican League fan asking about AJ Candelario, who had recently left his LMB team, and whether he was going to sign with a team in Taiwan.
Naturally, we put on our internet detective caps and checked the public records on Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor website, where we found that the Fubon Guardians had submitted a new hiring application on July 29. We then did a little cross-referencing and found that A.J. Candelario was currently following the Fubon Guardians on Instagram.
I don’t actually know anything. However, it’s worth noting that AJ Candelario follows the Fubon Guardians on social media. 👀 https://t.co/4l1wvlO0cH pic.twitter.com/lEDwRIBwVM
— CPBL STATS (Taiwan Dark Lemon) 🪬🔮 (@GOCPBL) August 1, 2026
Fast forward to August 11, and the Fubon Guardians officially announced the signing of 28-year-old American right-hander A.J. Candelario. According to the team, he has already arrived in Taiwan and is set to pitch in the tune-up games in the CPBL minor league.
A.J. Candelario began his professional career in independent baseball, playing in the Frontier League in 2021. He made the jump to affiliated baseball the following season, joining the Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals systems. During his one-year short stint in the MLB system, he only reached High-A.
From 2024 onward, A.J. Candelario has been active in the Mexican League, Atlantic League, and Puerto Rican Winter League. Prior to signing with the Fubon Guardians, he was a member of the Acereros de Monclova in the Mexican League, where he posted a 3.48 ERA and 1.30 WHIP over 54.1 innings.
AJ Candelario (6’1”, 207) topped out at 96.5 MPH at yesterday’s BPC Pro Day. The right-handed pitcher last pitched in the minors during the 2022 season for the Nationals organization. He is currently a free agent. pic.twitter.com/gknXhzX6Dm
— Milb Central (@milb_central) January 31, 2026
Fubon Guardians News: Abe Yudai
On August 7, the Fubon Guardians announced the release of Abe Yudai (阿部雄大). The 26-year-old Japanese left-hander finished his 2026 CPBL season with a 4.44 ERA and 1.32 WHIP over 50.2 innings.
According to the Guardians’ assistant general manager, the team hopes to retain Abe Yudai for the remainder of the 2026 season on a minor league contract. At this stage, however, Abe Yudai has yet to decide whether he will stay in the minor league or return to Japan.
Abe Yudai was originally signed as a development player and began the season in the minor league. Due to injuries to Aaron Wilkerson and Erick Leal, along with the release of Luis Liberato, Abe Yudai was given an opportunity and made his CPBL first-team debut in early May.
However, despite his outstanding performances in his first 3 outings, when he allowed just 2 runs over 19.1 innings, he was unable to maintain the same level of dominance. That eventually led to the Guardians releasing him to make room on the roster for a new foreign pitcher.
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.