NPB Tracker

Correction, March 15: Marte had actually been with the Royals organization prior to signing with Hiroshima. Thanks to Erik Schullstrom for the info; I wasn’t able to find any information on Marte’s pre-Carp career either in Japanese or English. It is possible that he played under a different name. Either way, I better brush up on my Spanish.

I had been wondering what happened to pitcher Victor Marte after the Carp released him… he’s in camp with the Royals as a non-roster invitee. Looks like he got a minor league deal. 

Marte is a rarity, a Dominican who signed his first pro contract with an NPB team instead of an MLB team. Marte played in the Carp’s Dominican Academy before playing most in the Japanese minor leagues the last few years. Ramon Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano are a couple of Carp Academy alums currently playing in the Majors.

Coming: Takuro Ishii, Scott Dohmann, Mazda Stadium

Going: Alex Ochoa, Jim Brower, Shigeru Morikasa, Ken Takahashi, Victor Marte

Staying: Colby Lewis, Ben Kozloski, Scott Seabol, Mike Shultz, Akihiro Higashide, manager Marty Brown

Trending: slightly downward

Synopsis: Renewing the contracts of ace Lewis and manager Brown were the biggest moves the Carp made. Losing Takahashi to the majors hurts the team’s pitching depth, but someone should be able to step into his shoes. Hiroshima hasn’t added any major pieces but with the continuing improvement of the team’s young players, they should be ready to challenge Chunichi for the third and final playoff spot. Marte is a guy who came up through the Carp’s Dominican Academy who will now look to catch on with an MLB organization. Not sure who is going to replace Ochoa’s production.