CPBL Foreign Players Updates Volume #349
Wei Chuan Dragons News: Teddy Stankiewicz
On August 30, just a day before the CPBL Trade Deadline, the Wei Chuan Dragons announced the signing of Teddy Stankiewicz. The 30-year-old American right-hander is set to begin his fourth CPBL season.
“This was a last-minute signing, as two foreign pitchers we were targeting got called up to the MLB,” said the Dragons’ GM to UDN. “We decided to sign Teddy Stankiewicz mainly due to his previous experience in the CPBL and based on what we saw in his performance in the Mexican League this season.”
In an interview with ETtoday, Teddy Stankiewicz revealed that he hadn’t expected to return to the CPBL this season, as he was preparing for the upcoming winter league. However, the Dragons contacted him last weekend, and he decided to return to Taiwan.
Uni-Lions Teddy Stankiewicz strikes out 10 in a dominant complete game performance. The 27-year-old right-hander allowing just 1 earned run on 5 hits. #CPBL 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZTDCYdKndm
— CPBL STATS 🪬🔮 (@GOCPBL) April 16, 2021
Teddy Stankiewicz first joined the CPBL in 2020 as a mid-season signing for the Uni-Lions, posting a 3.81 ERA and 1.38 WHIP over 54.1 innings. Due to his stellar performance in the 2020 Taiwan Series, the Uni-Lions quickly re-signed him for the following year.
In 2021, Stankiewicz dominated the league. In 8 starts, he compiled an incredible 1.18 ERA and 0.69 WHIP over 53.1 innings. However, in July, he forfeited his contract with the Uni-Lions to represent Mexico in the Tokyo Olympics.
During the 2021 offseason, the CTBC Brothers signed Teddy Stankiewicz for the 2022 season. But once again, Stankiewicz did not complete a full season in Taiwan. Due to some family issues back home, he left the CTBC Brothers in July of that year, finishing with a 4.09 ERA and 1.38 WHIP over 88 innings.
In 2023, Teddy Stankiewicz split his time between the Mexican League and the Cincinnati Reds’ minor league system (Triple-A and Double-A). In 2024, leading up to his signing with the Dragons, Stankiewicz was active in the Mexican League, pitching for the Toros de Tijuana, where he logged 51 innings and posted a 3.53 ERA and 1.13 WHIP.
With the signing of Teddy Stankiewicz, the Dragons now have Drew Gagnon, Bryan Woodall, Rio Gomez, and Tyler Eppler as their foreign players. As per CPBL regulations, the Dragons must trim that list down to four players after August 31.
Unhittable! The CTBC Brothers’ Teddy Stankiewicz tosses a 9K shutout against the Dragons. #CPBL pic.twitter.com/5YSfHOA9Rl
— CPBL STATS 🪬🔮 (@GOCPBL) April 21, 2022
Update: August 31 – Dragons Release Teddy Stankiewicz
The Dragons have decided not to register Teddy Stankiewicz to the active roster. According to the Dragons’ manager, after observing his bullpen session, the coaching staff felt that Teddy Stankiewicz is not quite in game shape yet.
However, the team stated that they will keep Teddy Stankiewicz in the CPBL minor league for the remainder of the 2024 season and evaluate him as a potential foreign player candidate for the 2025 season.
According to CPBL regulations, all teams must finalise their foreign players on the active roster by August 31. Each team can only keep 4 foreign players after this date and cannot make any changes. Those are not on the active roster can only play in the CPBL minor league.
Further Readings
Foreign players come and go. Therefore, we have compiled a tracker to monitor all foreign player signings for the 2024 CPBL season.