Sources: Tigers / Daily / Daily / Sanspo
The Hanshin Tigers announced the signing of former SoftBank Hawks pitcher Robert Suarez on Thursday the 19th. The 28-year old right-handed Venezuela native played for the Hawks for the past four seasons, mostly in relief, but also underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in 2017. The team plans to use him primarily out of the bullpen, though manager Akihiro Yano has hinted that his versatility is a plus. Suarez recorded 26 holds with the Hawks in 2016.
Yano went on to say that Suarez is “the perfect fit” in many ways, including the fact that it will have been 3 years since his TJ operation, that he is coming off a bad year and will be motivated to rebound well, and that he is still fairly young.
Suarez commented that he hopes to play strongly and that fans and management will be glad that they signed him to a deal.
The very next day, the team announced it had reached a deal with outfielder Jerry Sands, who played last year in KBO with the Kiwoom Heroes. The 31-year old New York native led Korea with 113 RBI in 139 games, and also had a .305 average and 28 home runs. Drafted by the LA Dodgers in 2008, he made his MLB debut in 2011. While his big-league numbers are hardly gaudy (.218 avg, 10 HR), he did rack up 180 total round-trippers in the minors.
Sands commented via a team official, saying: “I’m really happy to have reached an agreement with the Hanshin Tigers. I was teammates with Pierce Johnson in the minors in America, and I heard that he spent a wonderful time with the Tigers this past season. I hear the team is looking to improve its run production in order to win the pennant next year, so I hope I can knock in a lot of runs. I have experience in the outfield and at first, and will do my best wherever the team needs me. I have already seen videos of the rowdy fans, and I’m really excited to put on the Hanshin Tigers uniform and play for this team next year.”
The team is also on the verge of announcing an agreement to sign pitcher Jon Edwards to a deal as well. Stay tuned. The more imports, the merrier! (Just have to change the league rules, now!)
Now let’s watch him hit some dingers!
And here’s a really cool interview with him… from a really young guy!