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Baltimore Orioles: Two More Former Orioles Head Overseas

ByNick Stevens|
BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 05: Gabriel Ynoa #49 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches in second inning during a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 5, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 05: Gabriel Ynoa #49 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches in second inning during a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 5, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

Two more former Baltimore Orioles pitchers will be pitching overseas in 2020.

Good morning, Baltimore Orioles fans, and welcome to another edition of “Guess Which Former Oriole Has Agreed To Pitch Overseas Next Season?”

So far this winter, we have seen pitchers Mike Wright, Aaron Brooks, and Tayler Scott all pack up their bags and take advantage of the opportunity to pitch in either South Korea or Japan in 2020. We can now add two more pitchers to that list in RHP Gabriel Ynoa and former Orioles minor league pitcher Luis Gonzalez.

Making around $1 million (much more for higher quality players) and getting the opportunity to live abroad and experience a new culture and baseball lifestyle seems like an unforgettable experience for fringe major leaguers at risk of spending a majority of their time traveling around on minor league buses and making a meager salary.

It’s also an opportunity to re-establish yourself and find success before attempting a return to Major League Baseball, like in the case of Gabriel Ynoa. Ynoa, 26, spent the last three years with the Baltimore Orioles and showed flashes of what could make him a decent major league pitcher, but he was never able to put it all together at Camden Yards.

Ynoa will pitch for the Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball’s Central League in Japan. He will make $600,000 next season, according to Yahoo. Hat tip to @NBP_Reddit on Twitter relaying the Ynoa news.

Ynoa made 13 starts with the Orioles last season (36 total appearances), going 1-10 with a 5.61 ERA (6.20 FIP), a 1.37 WHIP, and a .279 average against. He saw his strikeout numbers decline to just 14% this year, while allowing 29 home runs across 110 innings. Only Dylan Bundy and John Means logged more innings for the Orioles in 2019 and only Dan Straily (-1.1) and David Hess (-0.8) had a lower fWAR than Ynoa (-0.5), assuming you don’t count Alex Cobb and his -0.6 fWAR in just 12 innings of work.

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Joining Ynoa in the NPB’s Central League with the Chunichi Dragons is former Orioles minor league LHP Luis Gonzalez. Again, a hat tip to NPB Reddit for the news. We have been unable to find out how much Gonzalez signed for.

Gonzalez, 27, had an opportunity to pitch in the major leagues for the Orioles, but struggled to find success at the Triple-A level. A lefty who typically sits in the mid-90s and can work in the upper-90s, Gonzalez struck out 66 hitters across 48 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in 2019.

This after working a 2.17 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, and .167 average against with 58 strikeouts in 45 innings with the Bowie Baysox in 2018. His struggles in AAA proved difficult to overcome (8.69 ERA, .341 average against, 8 home runs allowed in 29 IP in ’19) and Gonzalez elected free agency last month.

We wish both Ynoa and Gonzalez success in Japan. Will anyone else be joining this long list before the end of the winter?

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