Asian Baseball Championship defending champions Taiwan on Tuesday announced their 40-man training roster ahead of the tournament in March, with Japanese pitcher Takashio Masaki, who is completing his naturalization process to become Taiwanese, included.
The 32-year-old right-hander, who plays for ANYO Fresh in Taiwan’s semi-professional Popcorn League, posted an ERA of 3.00 and recorded 16 strikeouts in 21 innings over three games this season.
However, whether Masaki will make it to the final roster for Taiwan at the Asian Baseball Championship, from March 20 to 28 in Taichung, will depend on his fitness and performance at the training sessions, the CTBA national body said.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
The first stage of the training sessions is to be from Wednesday next week to Jan. 26 in Taitung, before a further roster is announced for the second stage.
The final roster is to have 24 players.
Former Major League Baseball outfielder Cirilo “Tommy” Cruz Dilan is to take the role of hitting coach for Taiwan.
The 70-year-old Puerto Rico-born Cruz first coached in Taiwan in 2014, overseeing the under-18, under-21 and under-23 national teams.
Cruz has been part of the coaching team at the CTBC Brothers, the Fubon Guardians and the Rakuten Monkeys in the CPBL.
Cruz’s work visa is being processed and he is expected to arrive in Taiwan after the Lunar New Year, the CTBA said.
Taiwan are to be led by ANYO Fresh head coach Wu Ssu-hsien, who competed for Taiwan’s national team at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, where they won silver.
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