For many struggling MLB players in recent years, some have looked to playing overseas in Japan as a prime opportunity to resurrect their professional careers.
The Philadelphia Phillies are certainly no stranger to that, as former top prospect Spencer Howard recently found a home with the Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) earlier this winter. Former bench player Jake Cave also signed overseas this offseason, heading to the Doosan Bears of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).
The Phillies now have another former member of the team heading overseas. Reliever Yunior Marte has signed with the Chunichi Dragons in NPB on a one-year deal worth $1.25 million, with $200,000 in incentives, per Francys Romero. Earlier this offseason, Marte signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners after leaving the Phillies for free agency upon the conclusion of the 2024 season. According to Gaijin Baseball, the Dragons will buy out that contract to obtain his services.
Former Phillies reliever Yunior Marte signs with Chunichi Dragons of NPB after MLB struggles
Marte spent his previous two years with the Phillies after coming over in a trade with the San Francisco Giants during the 2022-23 offseason. However, the 30-year-old right-hander was never able to realize his full potential with Philadelphia, as he struggled with inconsistency and ineffectiveness for pretty much his entire tenure with the club. As a result, he often found himself spending time with their Triple-A minor league affiliate the Lehigh Valley IronPigs instead.
Last season with the Phillies, Marte posted a dismal 6.92 ERA with a 1.89 WHIP, giving up 20 earned runs on 34 hits with 15 walks and 23 strikeouts in just 26 innings pitched over 23 relief appearances. To sum up his forgettable season, his implosion against the Arizona Cardinals on Aug. 10 practically said it all.
To add insult to injury, no pun intended, he was also plagued with injury woes to his shoulder near the beginning and toward the end of his tough 2024 campaign. In total, Marte finished with a 1-1 record, 5.79 ERA and 1.73 WHIP, with 61 strikeouts in 65 1/3 innings of work over 63 games in his two disappointing seasons with Philadelphia.
Marte still had the chance to revitalize his MLB career with Seattle after inking the minor league deal last November. But by jumping on this opportunity to play for the Dragons, most likely he believes that spending some time in Japan would give him the best chance to get his game back on track, while taking in a stabilized salary in the process.
Hopefully, the former Phillies reliever will have better luck landing back in MLB in the future after his journey overseas.
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