Dominican pitcher José De Paula was recently released from the CTBC Brothers’ active roster, casting uncertainty over the future of one of the most iconic foreign players in Chinese Professional Baseball League history.
Though he remains on the farm team roster, league rules render him ineligible to return to the top-tier squad for the remainder of the 2025 season. The move follows a persistent arm injury that has sidelined him since June and prematurely ended his campaign. While the Brothers have expressed interest in re-signing De Paula for the 2026 season, this could mark the end of an era for both the team and the 37-year-old southpaw.
De Paula’s professional baseball journey began nearly two decades ago when he signed with the San Diego Padres in 2006. Over the next 7 1/2 seasons, he toiled in the minor leagues, missing one full season due to suspension. His perseverance paid off in 2015, when he made his Major League debut with the New York Yankees, allowing just one run in 3 1/3 innings against the Detroit Tigers. It would be his lone MLB appearance, placing him among the 725 pitchers in history who appeared in only a single Major League game.
Across his minor league career, De Paula made 111 appearances, compiling a 3.94 ERA, with 410 strikeouts over 480 innings pitched. He continued his professional journey in independent baseball in Japan in 2017, followed by two seasons with the Sultanes de Monterrey in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol in 2018 and 2019, where he was a solid contributor.
In 2020, De Paula signed with the CTBC Brothers in Taiwan, a move that would transform his career. What began as a promising acquisition quickly became one of the greatest foreign pitcher runs in CPBL history. That year, he dominated the league with a 3.20 ERA and 192 strikeouts in 174 1/3 innings, earning CPBL Most Valuable Player honors and leading the Brothers to the Taiwan Series.