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Angels Pitcher Heads To Japan To Rehab His Reputation
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- Angels Pitcher Heads To Japan To Rehab His Reputation
(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
Los Angeles Angels reliever Joey Lucchesi had a rough go in Anaheim earlier this year, and now he's headed to Japan to try and rehabilitate his reputation, according to a report from Steve Adams of MLBTradeRumors.com , and he'll now join the rotation of the Chiba Lotte Marines in the Nippon Professional Baseball league.
Lucchesi has bounced around a lot, with his latest successful stint coming with the San Francisco Giants . Earlier in his career Lucchesi was successful with the San Diego Padres as a rotation starter, but at this point in his career the 33-year old lefthander is basically a journeyman.
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The former starter pitched just 3-1/3 innings this year, and he got tagged for five earned runs. The Angels quickly ran out of patience with him, but Lucchesi had more success at Triple-A Salt Lake. He threw 33-1/3 innings with a 3.24 ERA with a high strikeout rate, a low walk rate and the ability to keep contact on the ground. According to Adams, this move is probably due to language in his contract about potential foreign opportunities that has come to fruition.
Lucchesi has pitched a total of 416-2/3 innings in the majors, and according to Adams his career 4.15 ERA is a near identical match to the 4.14 mark he posted in his first two seasons as a member of San Diego 's rotation. Lucchesi doesn't throw particularly hard or miss bats at a high level, the writer added, but his secondary pitches have graded out as effective pitches in the majors.
He'll spend the remainder of the season in Japan — likely earning more than he'd have secured on a minor league deal in North America — and reassess his market in the offseason.
It's surprising that the Padres weren't willing to give him a second go-round given his early success, as this may have simply been a case of a pitcher posting bad numbers at exactly the wrong time. As Adams noted, a strong performance could set him up for a seven-figure guarantee overseas in 2027 or catch the attention of major league clubs in free agency this winter.
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The Angels have moved on to try to develop some of their younger pitchers, and new GM John Mozeliak would have faced an uphill battle trying to bring Luccesi back. He could be in play for any number of teams next year, so don't rule the Angels ouut of that group.
