The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed 29-year-old left-handed pitcher Geronimo Franzua to a minor league deal. He has spent the last five seasons playing in Japan.
Franzua was originally an international free agent signing of the Houston Astros out of the Dominican Republic at 16 years old in 2010. He was a higher profile signing as a lefty who hit 91 MPH, with an advanced changeup at a young age. He pitched three seasons in the Dominican Summer League before being released. He didn’t play pro ball again until 2018, when he showed up in Japan. He has also played some winter ball in the Dominican during that time.
Franzua put up strong stats in Japan during the 2018-20 seasons, but he has struggled during each of the last two seasons, while seeing limited time due to a knee surgery. He had a 7.36 ERA over 11 appearances during the 2022 season. He posted a 2.45 ERA in 2020, 2.69 in 2019 and 1.89 in 2018, throwing a total of 243.2 innings, while picking up 289 strikeouts.
