SF Giants: Tyler Chatwood set to join NPB

Veteran pitcher Tyler Chatwood had a brief tenure with the SF Giants and it appears that he will be pitching overseas next year. A report by Sports Hochi has confirmed that Chatwood has agreed to join the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks of the Nippon Professional Baseball league (NPB).

SF Giants: Tyler Chatwood set to join NPB

The right-handed hurler joined the Toronto Blue Jays on a one-year, $3 million deal for the 2021 season. However, he struggled badly in a Blue Jays uniform, registering a 5.46 ERA, 3.81 FIP, 1.43 WHIP, 10.3 K/9, and a 1.60 SO/W ratio in 28 innings before being placed on waivers.

Chatwood cleared waivers and the Giants took a flyer on him with a minor-league pact along with veteran Matt Shoemaker. At that time, San Francisco had run thin on starting pitching depth as Aaron Sanchez was placed on waivers. It was only a matter of time before either Chatwood or Shoemaker got the call provided that they proved they still had something left in the tank at Triple-A.

Chatwood got the call after completing four scoreless appearances with six strikeouts with the Sacramento River Cats. The 32-year-old pitcher only appeared in two games with the Giants as he yielded three earned runs with six strikeouts across four innings.

His tenure with San Francisco came to an end in an odd way as he was originally designated for assignment but they were able to recall that decision and place him on the injured list instead. It was a bit of a bizarre series of transactions that I cannot remember happening previously.

The righty still accumulates high strikeout totals (10.7 K/9 in 2021) and induces ground balls at a high rate (50% GB rate in 2021) but he does have erratic command. Nevertheless, teams will usually take a chance on those first two traits and it appears that the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks are the next team to do so.

The Softbank Hawks posted a 65-40 overall record in 2021, but they lost one of their tops arms in Nick Martinez. Martinez agreed to a four-year, $20 million with the San Diego Padres earlier in the offseason. Like Martinez, Chatwood offers the Softbank Hawks a durable arm with some upside who will, hopefully, carry them to another strong season in 2022.