Liván Moinelo

Liván Moinelo
Moinelo with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks – No. 35
Pitcher
Born: (1995-12-08) December 8, 1995 (age 28)
Pinar del Rio, Cuba
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
NPB debut
June 27, 2017, for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
NPB statistics
(through October 12, 2024)
Win–loss record30-14
ERA1.92
Holds135
Saves40
Strikeouts577
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Liván Moinelo Pita (born December 8, 1995) is a Cuban professional baseball pitcher for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).

Career

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Moinelo played for the Cuban national baseball team at the 2015 Pan American Games, 2015 Premier 12 and 2017 World Baseball Classic.[1]

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

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2017–2020

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On May 10, 2017, the Government of Cuba signed a contract to dispatch Moinelo and Oscar Colas to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks as a developmental player.[2][3] From May 28, 2017, he played on the Western League, one of the two minor league teams in the NPB.[4] On June 16 of the same year, Moinelo signed a 20 million yen contract with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks as a registered player under control.[5] On June 27, he pitched his debut game against the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters as a relief pitcher.[6] On July 2, he won a game as a relief pitcher for the first time in the Pacific League.[7] In 2017 season, he finished the regular season as a Setup man with 34 games pitched, a 4–3 Win–loss record, a 2.52 ERA, 15 holds, 1 save, and 36 strikeouts in 35+23 innings. He pitched as a setup man in the postseason, and he pitched well in the 2017 Pacific League Climax Series against Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and the 2017 Japan Series against Yokohama DeNA BayStars, and contributed to the Hawks' Japan Series championship victory.

In the 2018 season, Moinelo finished the regular season with 49 games pitched, a 5–1 Win–loss record, a 4.53 ERA, 13 holds, 1 save, and 57 strikeouts in 45+23 innings. And in the postseason, he pitched as a setup man in the 2018 Pacific League Climax Series against Saitama Seibu Lions and the 2018 Japan Series against Hiroshima Toyo Carp, and contributed to the team's second consecutive Japan Series championship.

In the 2019 season, Moinelo finished the regular season with 60 Games pitched, a 3–1 Win–loss record, a 1.52 ERA, 34 holds, 4 saves, and 86 strikeouts in 59+13 innings. And in the postseason, he pitched as a setup man in the 2019 Pacific League Climax Series against Saitama Seibu Lions and the 2019 Japan Series against Yomiuri Giants, and contributed to the team's third consecutive Japan Series championship. On October 8, he was selected by the Cuba national baseball team for 2019 WBSC Premier12.[8]

In the 2020 season, Moinelo finished the regular season with 50 Games pitched, a 2–3 Win–loss record, a 1.69 ERA, a 38 Holds (League Holds leader), a one Save, a 77 strikeouts in 48 innings. And he recorded his career high with K9 (14.44) and AVG (.164). In the 2020 Japan Series against the Yomiuri Giants, He pitched in three games as a Setup man, scoring no hits, no runs and 8 strikeouts, contributing to the team's fourth consecutive Japan Series champion.[9] On December 17, Moinelo was honored for the Pacific League Best Relief Pitcher Award at the NPB AWARD 2020.[10]

2021–present

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In 2021 season, Moinelo finished the regular season with 33 Games pitched, a 1–0 Win–loss record, a 1.15 ERA, a 14 Holds, a 5 Saves, and a 42 strikeouts in 31+13 innings.

On January 27, 2022, Moinelo re-signed a three-year contract with the Hawks for an annual salary of 300 million yen.[11] In 2022 season, he finished the regular season with 53 Games pitched, a 1–1 Win–loss record, a 1.03 ERA, a 8 holds, a 24 saves, and a 87 strikeouts in 52+23 innings.

Moinelo was excellent for SoftBank to begin the 2023 season, recording an 0.98 ERA with 37 strikeouts and 5 saves in 27+23 innings across 27 appearances. After being diagnosed with arthritis in his left elbow, it was announced on July 16, 2023 that he would undergo a cleanup procedure on the same elbow and miss approximately three months.[12]

On March 26, 2024, it was announced that Moinelo had agreed to a four–year, $26.4 million contract extension with Fukuoka.[13] Moinelo also transitioned into a starting pitcher role for 2024, starting his first game on March 30, 2024 against the 3 time defending pennant winning Orix Buffaloes, where he gave up only 3 hits, 2 earned runs, and 1 walk in an 8 inning, 90 pitch losing effort. He earned his first win as a starter on April 13th against the Saitama Seibu Lions, only giving up 3 hits in 8 innings of work as the Hawks won 11-2. Moinelo also picked up his first hit during the 2024 season during Interleague play at Yokohama Stadium against the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.[14] Moinelo picked up the Pacific League ERA title in his first season as a starter with a 1.88 ERA, 155 strikeouts and an 11-5 record in 163 IP.[15]

References

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  1. ^ Lara-Cinisomo, Vince (February 8, 2017). "2017 CUBA WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC ROSTER". Baseball America. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  2. ^ "Nikkan Sports baseball news (Japanese) ソフトバンク、キューバ代表モイネロらと育成契約". Nikkan Sports. May 10, 2017. Retrieved June 4, 2017.
  3. ^ In the NPB, in addition to the 70 registered players under management (active roster of players), each team can have developmental squad players for the purpose of improving their baseball skills and training manners. They aim to be promoted to registered players under management within the 3 year contract period (Non-tender FA players and contract expired players renew their contract every year).
  4. ^ "Nishinippon Sports Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks news (Japanese) キューバ左腕モイネロ、最速151キロ実戦デビュー". Nishinippon Shimbun. May 29, 2017. Retrieved June 4, 2017.
  5. ^ "Nikkan Sports baseball news (Japanese) ソフトバンク・モイネロ支配下登録、デスパも喜ぶ". Nikkan Sports. June 16, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  6. ^ "Nishinippon Shimbun baseball news (Japanese) モイネロ上々初登板". Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). June 28, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  7. ^ "Nishinippon Shimbun baseball news (Japanese) 来日3戦目 わずか4球 モイネロ もう勝った". Nishinippon Shimbun (in Japanese). July 3, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  8. ^ "WBSC Premier12 Cuban National Team Roster Released". OfficialBaseball de Cuba. October 8, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  9. ^ "Nippon Professional Baseball (Japanese) 2020年度 福岡ソフトバンクホークス 個人投手成績(日本シリーズ)". NPB.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  10. ^ "Nippon Professional Baseball (Japanese) 2020年度 表彰選手 (パシフィック・リーグ)". NPB.jp (in Japanese). December 17, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  11. ^ "Nikkansports Sports baseball news ソフトバンク契約延長 モイネロ3億、グラシアル、デスパイネ2億7千万円". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). January 27, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  12. ^ "Moinero goes to left elbow surgery Professional baseball Softbank". news.yahoo.co.jp. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  13. ^ "SoftBank lefty Moinelo set for hefty contract extension". japantimes.co.jp. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  14. ^ "ソフトバンクの先発モイネロが左前にプロ初安打 プロ通算2打席目 実は両打ち". スポニチ Sponichi Annex (in Japanese). 2024-06-07. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
  15. ^ "L.モイネロ(福岡ソフトバンクホークス)". NPB.jp 日本野球機構 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-10-22.
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