Report: Seibu Lions sign Alexis Candelario

The Saitama Seibu Lions made their second addition of the week. On Saturday morning, they reached an agreement with Dominican pitcher Alexis Candelario. He will make an estimated ¥25 million for 2017 and was assigned No. 68.

Candelario, who will be 35 in May, has never played under a major league organization, according to Baseball Reference. He spent the 2016 season with the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (Independent league in the USA), the Italian Baseball League and the Mexican Baseball League.

"I am sincerely pleased to be a member of the Saitama Seibu Lions," Candelario said in a statement. "I have played with many teams in different countries, but I hope the Lions and Japan can be my last place. I appreciate the team for giving me an opportunity and I promise to do my best."

With Veracruz in Mexico, he had a 2.62 ERA with a 1.164 WHIP in seven starts. In Italy, his ERA was 1.88 with a 1.043 WHIP in seven starts.

He was able to boost his stock entering 2016 by playing well in the Venezuelan Winter League. With the Tiburones de La Guaira in Venezuela, he had a 2.28 ERA in 14 starts and he credits this 2015 season as to how he got to where he is.

Last month, he signed a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers and has presumably been granted a release. He also spent time in the Dominican winter league.

Knowing his history, Candelario is projected to compete for a starting spot in the Lions rotation for 2017. He will be part of a mix including Ryoma Nogami, Ken Togame, Keisuke Honda, Makoto Aiuchi and Yasuo Sano. Candelario is the 5th import on the Lions roster which includes Ernesto Mejia, Chun-Lin Kuo, Frank Garces and Brian Wolfe.

Including Shogo Kimura on ikusei, the Lions will have 69 players under contract with two spaces available on the 70 man roster. They will most likely leave one spot open to possibly promote Kimura and have one space open for someone else.

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