NPB: After six years in MLB, Venezuelan infielder will try his luck in Japan

The Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters signed free agent infielder Renato Nunez, according to various reports from Japan. Nunez’s one-year contract will pay him 180 million yen plus incentives, which is equivalent to approximately US $ 1.6 million.

The Venezuelan Núñez goes to Nippon Professional Baseball after six years in the majors, standing out for a 31-homer season with the Orioles in 2019. Nunez has shown some power, but not much in the way of average or OBP, and glove work in the corner box for below average. As a result, the Orioles didn’t bid him last winter, and Nunez could only find a minor league deal with the Detroit Tigers:

There wasn’t much playing time in Detroit, as Nunez received just 55 MLB plate appearances last season and hit .189 / .218 / .472. After being released by the Tigers in August, Nunez caught up with the Brewers on another minor league deal, but saw no action in the major leagues.

While Núñez didn’t hit much for the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate, he did hit big numbers at Triple-A Toledo, hitting .291 / .383 / .585 with 20 home runs over 311 at-bats for the best farm of the losers. Tigers

Nunez had the ability to choose free agency after the season, and he took that option to return to the open market and later settle with the Fighters.

It may interest you: MLB Baltimore cuts the wings of Renato Nunez and is now a free agent

Nunez still isn’t 28 years old until April, and he would be far from the first hitter to rediscover his hit after a season in Japan. If Nunez can translate his power into a more consistent production at the plate, he could carve out a good niche with the Fighters, or perhaps return to MLB in the future.

Rafael Martinez

I am fond of the King of Sports, especially the Boston Red Sox in MLB and in general all of Mexican baseball. This profession has given me the opportunity to cover major events such as the Caribbean Series, LMB All Star, LMP (uninterrupted since 2009), signings of important players. I had the chance to attend the 2013 World Classic in Arizona, USA, albeit as a fan. Apart from this beautiful sport, I love basketball, where I have also narrated games and even an NBA friendly 10 years ago, but I carry baseball in my veins. Bachelor of Communication Sciences from the Autonomous University of Sinaloa (UAS) , from which I graduated in 2011. I was born in Mazatlán, Sinaloa and started in the world of sports journalism in 2004 in the newspaper El Sol de Mazatlán, where I was a baseball columnist and a reporter at the same time. In January 2009 I came to El Debate as a journalist reporter and it was almost six years (in the first stage), until in November 2014 I emigrated to the radio providing my services at Línea Directa-Grupo RSN. My cycle there ended in July 2019 and after a few days, El Debate gave me another opportunity to work and opened the doors for me again. That is how I came to Al Bat, where I have been since 2019 as a web journalist.

see more

.

We would like to give thanks to the writer of this post for this outstanding material

NPB: After six years in MLB, Venezuelan infielder will try his luck in Japan