NPB: Why did Breyvic Valera, Jesse Biddle and Jacob Waguespack sign for Japan?

The Venezuelan infielder Breyvic Valera, left-handed pitcher Jesse Biddle and right-handed pitcher Jacob Waguespack signed with the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japanthe team announced this week. Valera you will earn $ 1MM with your deal.

All three players calculate that they will earn more playing in Japan than they would have received in 2022 if they had remained in North America. Valera would have been waiting for a pre-arbitration salary (that is, close to the league minimum) and, as his transaction history makes clear, it was unsecured for the entire season on the roster:

Biddle and Waguespack would have been minor league free agents likely to command minor league contracts with invitations to spring training off the roster.

It may interest you: NPB Details emerge of Freddy Galvis’ contract with Japan’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

Signing in Japan also creates the possibility for each of the three to earn raises if they are successful and re-sign at NPB or KBO for future seasons. With good enough results, it is plausible that any of the three could generate interest in a return to the majors at some point in the future.


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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, the 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. Graduated in 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 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 in Línea Directa-Grupo RSN. My cycle there ended in July 2019 and within 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.

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NPB: Why did Breyvic Valera, Jesse Biddle and Jacob Waguespack sign for Japan?