The SoftBank Halcones team reported this Tuesday that they have reached an agreement with the Cuban alfredo despaigne to join the group for the remainder of the season of the Japan Baseball League (NPB).
The franchise from the city of Fukuoka had released the outfielder from Granma at the end of the 2022 campaign. After signing the new contract, the player is expected to arrive in the Asian nation in mid-June, according to a report from the website japanese baseballfocused on the performance of Latino players in this prestigious professional circuit.
ATTENTION! The Japanese media announce that the return of ??Alfredo Despaigne to the SoftBank Falcons is already a fact. The contract has already been signed and the slugger is expected to arrive in Japan in mid-June.
?????https://t.co/oMa77ZGKOO pic.twitter.com/ptN941o08l– Japanese Baseball.com (@beisboljapones) May 31, 2023
The publication adds that the economic terms have not been disclosed, but according to information prior to the announcement, it is believed that Despaigne would be charging between 1 and 1.5 million dollars for this new contract.
The outlet points out that SoftBank currently has Venezuelans Freddy Galvis and Willians Astudillo and American Courtney Hawkins on its payroll, but neither has been able to provide the numbers the team needs to be able to fight for the league title.
The Cuban has nine seasons of experience in Japanese professional baseball, six of them linked to the Falcons, which he joined in 2017 from the Chiba Lotte Mariners.
In his first season, he hit 35 home runs and drove in 103 runs, leading both departments in the Pacific League, and was a key piece for the team to win four consecutive crowns.
After executing the clause of his previous contract, which allowed him to extend his presence on the Halcones’ roster for another year, the team’s management decided to cut the relationship after a discreet performance in 2022, marked by repeated injuries.
Alfredo Despaigne will not continue with the Softbank Hawks in professional baseball in Japan
In that segment, Despaigne was barely able to participate in 89 games for his team, in which he hit 15 home runs and posted an offensive average of .269.
In his nine years in Japan, the prominent slugger he averaged .263 and with 184 homers and 541 RBIs, these are the last two all-time records for a Cuban in professional baseball in Japan.
With his Asian stage closed, he joined the Alazanes de Granma to participate in the 62nd Cuban National Series, and so far this season he has hit six homers, the most recent on Tuesday to push in three runs in the duel that his team lost 3 -4 against the Elephants of Cienfuegos.
So far in the campaign on the island has connected 29 hits in 86 at-bats, including eight extra-base hits to drive 21 runs. His offensive average is .337.
Despaigne is considered one of the best Cuban baseball players in recent decades and a regular in the island’s teams at major international events, including the V World Baseball Classic (WBC), which he attended as team captain.
Although the integration of the pre-selection of 39 players has not been announced, the new movement towards Japan would leave him out of the roster that will represent Cuba in the Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador.
