Uni-Lions sign Logan Ondrusek and Keury Mella for CPBL 2022 season

Taipei, Jan. 13 (CNA) Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions club said Thursday that it has enlisted former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitchers Logan Ondrusek and Keury Mella for the 2022 season, which starts in April.

With the addition of Ondrusek and Mella, the club will have four foreign players, as it announced last week that it was retaining Canadian ace pitcher Brock Dykxhoorn and Dominican slugger Wilin Rosario for the start of the new season in Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL).

Ondrusek, a 36-year-old American right-hander who pitched for the Cincinnati Reds from 2010-2014 and the Baltimore Orioles in 2016, has a 21-11 record and an ERA of 4.03. He appeared in 288 games during that period, sending off 218 batters over 277 innings.

The 203-cm tall Hallettsville of Texas, who also pitched for the Yakult Swallows in the Japan Central League between 2015 and 2016, has appeared in 102 games, posting an 8-3 record, with an ERA of 2.17 and 91 strikeouts over 99.2 innings.

Meanwhile, righty reliever Keury Mella, 28, pitched for the Cincinnati Reds 2017-2019 and the Arizona Diamondbacks 2020-2021, appearing in 21 games and was credited with two wins, no losses, and an ERA of 7.22.

The 188-cm tall Dominican has pitched in 199 games over nine minor league seasons, registering a 51-50 record with an ERA of 3.79 and 770 strikeouts over 865.2 innings.

Ondrusek and Mella are expected to arrive in Taiwan in mid-February and will undergo mandatory quarantine, Uni-Lions said.

The club's four foreign players - three pitchers and one infielder - are expected to lift the level of competition and deliver outstanding results in the upcoming CPBL season, Uni-Lions said.

The 2022 season is scheduled to start April 2, with the visiting Tainan-based Uni-Lions facing off against the CTBC Brothers of Taichung.