The Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball have signed right-hander Logan Ondrusek to a one-year contract, the team announced (as reported in The Japan Times). The deal is worth $1.2MM and the Swallows have a club option on Ondrusek’s services for the 2016 season. Ondrusek is represented by Rich Thompson.
Ondrusek, 29, was non-tendered by the Reds last month following a season that saw him post a 5.49 ERA, 9.2 K/9 and 2.63 K/BB rate over 41 relief innings. A .360 BABIP was largely to blame for Ondrusek’s struggles, as ERA indicators such as FIP (3.91), xFIP (3.80), SIERA (3.36) painted a more generous evaluation of his 2014 performance. Ondrusek was arbitration-eligible for the second time this winter, and was projected by MLBTR’s Matt Swartz to earn a $2.3MM salary in 2015
The 6’8″ righty has spent all five of his Major League seasons with the Reds, posting a career 3.89 ERA, 1.93 K/BB rate and a 7.1 K/9 over 270 2/3 IP, demonstrating roughly equal effectiveness against both right-handed and left-handed batters. Though he has only two career saves in the majors (not a surprise given Aroldis Chapman’s presence in Cincinnati), Ondrusek will be in competition to serve as the Swallows’ closer.
