Austin Voth Signs With NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines

The Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball announced today that they’ve signed right-hander Austin Voth (h/t Yakyu Cosmopolitan). Voth is expected to pitch out of the rotation for the Marines.

Voth, 33 in June, was a fifth-round pick by the Nationals back in 2013. He started his career with the Nats in 2018 but struggled with the club throughout his time in Washington. Despite a solid 2019 season where he pitched in 43 2/3 innings of 3.30 ERA (137 ERA+) ball backed up by a solid 3.79 FIP, he was never so much as league average for the rest of his time in D.C. before being shipped out to Baltimore partway through the 2022 campaign. Overall, Voth finished his Nationals career with a 5.70 ERA (75 ERA+) and a 5.12 FIP despite a fairly solid 22.1% strikeout rate.

Upon joining the Orioles, Voth managed to turn things around somewhat. He was quickly installed in the Baltimore rotation for the second half of 2022, making 17 starts and five relief appearances that totaled 83 innings. It was a strong performance as he struck out 20.7% of opponents while walking 7.2% en route to a 3.04 ERA (129 ERA+) and 3.96 FIP. That quality production at the back of the rotation helped to lift the Orioles to their first winning record since 2016 and all but guaranteed the righty a roster spot in Baltimore the following year. Unfortunately, Voth’s numbers took a nosedive in 2023 when he moved back to the bullpen, with a brutal 5.19 ERA (79 ERA+) in 34 2/3 innings of work. Voth’s peripherals largely matched that performance as well; his 21.3% strikeout rate was mostly stagnant as compared to the year prior, but Voth’s walk rate jumped to 9.3% and he gave up a whopping six homers in 25 relief outings.

The right-hander was outrighted off the club’s roster in September of 2023 and elected free agency following the season. He signed with the Mariners on a one-year, big league deal that guaranteed him $1.25MM and was a key part of the club’s bullpen mix throughout the 2024 season. After previously working as a starter and long reliever throughout his career, Voth was used almost exclusively in short relief by the Mariners to decent results. He posted a league average 3.69 ERA in 61 innings of work as his strikeout rate ticked up to 24.6% against a 7.3% walk rate, though home runs continued to be an issue for the righty.

Now that he’s headed to Japan, Voth figures to slot into the Marines’ rotation after the club parted ways with Roki Sasaki via the posting system last month. The Marines surely aren’t relying on Voth to replicate the production of their departing 23-year-old phenom, but his addition should offer them quality back-of-the-rotation innings nonetheless. Should the 32-year-old find success in NPB as a rotation piece this year, it’s certainly within the realm of possibility he could return to stateside ball in hopes of establishing himself as a starter in the majors as well.