Nippon Professional Baseball’s Yokohama DeNA BayStars have signed outfielder Cooper Hummel, the club announced.
Hummel, 31, has logged 340 career plate appearances in Major League Baseball with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, and Houston Astros, producing a .163/.268/.275 slash line with six home runs. He managed just a .571 OPS last season, though he has consistently graded well in metrics such as chase rate and sprint speed.
He saw most of his MLB action defensively in left field, but also appeared in 18 games at catcher. His results have been far stronger in the minors, as he batted .297/.439/.635 with 13 homers in 44 Triple-A games in 2025.
The switch-hitting American is expected to factor into DeNA’s corner outfield mix alongside Tatsuo Ebina, Ryuki Watarai, and Keita Sano. DeNA finished second in the Central League last season and will aim to reach the postseason for a fifth consecutive year, this time under first-year manager Ryoji Aikawa.
The signing continues a busy offseason for DeNA, which saw the departures of foreign starters Anthony Kay, Andre Jackson, and Trevor Bauer, along with catcher Hikaru Itoh and outfielder Masayuki Kuwahara via free agency. The BayStars have responded by adding new import arms in Austin Cox, Jose Ruiz, and Sean Reynolds, and by inking former Hanshin Tigers top starter Jon Duplantier.
Photo: Houston Astros’ Cooper Hummel scores on a two-run double by Cam Smith against the Seattle Mariners during the fifth inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 20, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
