Fastball

Former San Diego Padres Pitcher Looks to Continue Career in NPB

After pitching in one career Major League game for the San Diego Padres, pitcher Jose Espada is looking to continue his career in Japan's NPB.

Brady Farkas

Former San Diego Padres Pitcher Looks to Continue Career in NPB
Former San Diego Padres Pitcher Looks to Continue Career in NPB /
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After pitching in one career Major League game for the San Diego Padres, pitcher Jose Espada is going to Japan to continue his career in the NPB.

Per Espada himself on "X:"

I am happy to announce that I will be pitching for the Tokyo-Yakult Swallows in 2024. I look forward to this new chapter in my career and hope to be able to help the Swallows bring home an NPB championship in '2024

Espada threw one game for the Padres in 2023, registering a scoreless one inning. At just 26 years old, he certainly has a chance to come back to the United States from Japan, but if that ends up being his only appearance, he can say he accomplished an incredible dream.

Espada had been in affiliated ball since 2015 and was formerly a prospect of the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox.

In the minor leagues, he's made 132 appearances, pitching to a 3.97 ERA. He's gone 13-21.

MLBTradeRumors published an article that had more on Espada:

Working in a multi-inning capacity, he combined for a 2.81 ERA in 83 1/3 frames between Double-A and Triple-A (in 2023). Espada fanned an excellent 32.3% of opponents in the minors, although he paired that with a notable 12.5% walk rate.

San Diego was impressed enough with his minor league performance they were prepared to keep him around as non-roster depth going into 2024. The NPB opportunity affords Espada a chance to lock in a salary that’s surely above what he’d have made if he’d spent much or all of next season at Triple-A El Paso. He’ll get a look in what is generally viewed as the world’s second-highest level of professional baseball.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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