The Philadelphia Phillies have not overhauled their roster this winter.
Like every offseason, though, there were some minor changes with players electing to become free agents to see if there are better opportunities for them, and the front office non-tendering others based on lack of production or the price of their contracts.
One player in the organization who opted to hit the open market was Nick Nelson.
The Phillies acquired the right-hander from the New York Yankees after the 2021 season. He was a featured part of the bullpen the following year when he appeared in 47 games, but after he finished with a 4.85 ERA and ERA+ that was 18 points below the league average, he was only used in five games combined the next two seasons.
Because of that, it’s not hard to see why Nelson wanted a new opportunity, and according to his agency, Beverly Hill Sports Council, he has found it by way of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan.
Nelson signed a $1 million deal with the Hanshin Tigers that features incentives.
While he has never quite found his footing in the MLB with a career ERA of 5.20 across 74 outings and 114.1 innings pitched, teams are always looking for bullpen arms. His FIP of 3.69 suggests he has gotten extremely unlucky when it comes to how many runs have been attributed to him, which could have made him a buy low candidate.
But, it’s hard to say this is the wrong decision for Nelson.
Plenty of players have gone overseas to figure some things out and use it as an opportunity to play their way back into a Major League role.
Even if that doesn’t happen for Nelson, making a living playing baseball in Japan is not the worst thing in the world, either.
