Offseasons around the globe are in full swing, and the Hiroshima Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) announced that they’ve signed infielder Elehuris Montero and re-signed southpaw Taylor Hearn. Both players have agreed to one-year contracts for the 2025 season.
Corner infielder Elehuris Montero will get his first taste of Japanese baseball this upcoming season. The 26-year-old was born in Santo Domingo Centro, Dominican Republic, where he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in August 2014. After several minor league seasons and being regarded as a highly-touted prospect, he was traded to the Colorado Rockies along with several minor leaguers in 2021, which landed the Cardinals Nolan Arenado.
Montero would make his MLB debut in 2022, playing in 53 games with the Rockies. The following season, Montero played in a career-high 85 games in 2023, adding 11 home runs, 39 RBIs, hitting to a .243 average, but he held a strikeout rate of 39 percent. He would play in 67 games this past season but only hit for a .205 average, with four home runs and 28 RBIs. The Rockies designated him for assignment on June 30, and he spent the rest of the season with Triple-A Albuquerque.
One arm that will be returning to Japan after a successful 2024 campaign is Taylor Hearn. The Washington Nationals drafted the 30-year-old southpaw in the fifth round of the 2015 MLB draft. After seasons with the Nationals and Pirates organizations in MiLB, Hearn made his MLB debut with the Texas Rangers in 2019. He pitched with them through 2023 while appearing in games with the Atlanta Braves and Kansas City Royals.
After the 2023 season, Hearn signed with the Hiroshima Carp for the 2024 season. Between NPB’s Western and Central League, Hearn pitched in 45 games, going 0-1, with a ridiculous 1.01 ERA, pitching in 44.2 innings, walking just ten batters, striking out 35, and picking up five saves. Another intriguing stat was that Hearn only allowed one home run the entire season.
Hiroshima went 68-70 in NPB’s Central League this past season, missing the playoffs. It will be fascinating to see if Taylor Hearn will keep up his dominance as the set-up man for the Carp, as eyes will be on him to put up a strong sophomore season in Japan. As for Montero, it will be intriguing to see if he can find his swing once again and become the power hitter that he once was as a top prospect.
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