The SoftBank Falcons announced that they have re-signed Cuban slugger Alfredo Despaigne to a new contract for the remainder of the current season in the Japanese Professional Baseball League.
Despaigne played the last six seasons with the club before being released at the end of the 2022 campaign. The 36-year-old slugger is expected to arrive in Japan in mid-June.
This year, the Cuba team that attended the World Classic V featured the Cuban slugger and held several preparation tops in Japan, in which the Cuban was applauded for how much he has delivered for the Falcons.
SoftBank currently has three foreign hitters on its roster: Venezuelans Freddy Galvis and Willians Astudillo and American Courtney Hawkins; but none of them has been able to provide the numbers the team needs to be able to fight for the league title.
At the moment, the Falcons are in third place in their zone, with a balance of 24 wins, 19 losses and two ties, 2.5 games behind the leader Marinos de Lotte.
These days, Despaigne has joined the lineup of Cuba’s multi-champions, the Alazanes de Granma, in the LXII National Baseball Series. In 86 at-bats, he has hit 29 home runs, including six home runs and 21 runs batted in.
