CPBL Foreign Players Updates Volume #352
TSG Hawks News: Spenser Watkins
On November 7, USA baseball journalist Bob Nightengale revealed that the TSG Hawks have signed 32-year-old American right-hander Spenser Watkins for the 2025 CPBL season.
At the time of writing, the TSG Hawks’ general manager had not directly confirmed the signing.
“Yes, Spenser Watkins is indeed on our list of candidates. We will announce our new foreign player once everything is confirmed,” the Hawks’ GM told ETtoday.
Despite the Hawks not wanting to reveal the signing, both Spenser Watkins and his agency, Gaeta Sports Management, had already announced the news on their social media.
“We’re ecstatic to announce our agreement for the 2025 season with the TSG Hawks. Beyond excited for an incredible new opportunity and new experiences!” Gaeta Sports Management posted on Instagram.
Spenser Watkins began his professional career in 2014 with the Detroit Tigers organisation and made his MLB debut in 2021 with the Baltimore Orioles. From 2021 to 2023, he compiled a 5.97 ERA and 1.53 WHIP over 164.1 innings across 40 games. His most notable season came in 2022, when he joined the Orioles’ rotation and logged 105.1 innings, finishing the year with a 5.04 ERA.
In 2023, Spenser Watkins spent most of his time in Triple-A with the Orioles, Astros, and A’s organisations. He did have a brief stint in the majors with the A’s, posting a 10.38 ERA over 4.1 innings. He elected free agency at the end of the 2023 season.
After leaving the A’s organisation, Spenser Watkins signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals and remained in Triple-A throughout the 2024 season, where he posted a 4.56 ERA and 1.37 WHIP over 118.1 innings in 25 games. For context, the league’s average ERA was 4.83.
Turned Down KBO Deal in 2024
CPBL columnist Wang Yi-Hsuan noted on social media that Watkins had been on several CPBL teams’ radar as a potential foreign player during the 2024 season, but Watkins had opted not to go overseas at that time.
According to an MLB Trade Rumors article from December 2023, Watkins was close to finalising a deal with a KBO team for 2024 but decided to stay in the United States to be present for the birth of his child.
Spenser Watkins Pitching Repertoire
Based on the 2024 data from Baseball Savant, Watkins primarily relies on his four-seam fastball, sinker and cutter. Breaking pitch-wise, he often uses curveball and changeup but occasionally would mix in slider and splitter.