Chih-Wei Hu (; born November 4, 1993) is a Taiwanese

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Uni-President Lions The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions, stylized as Uni-President 7-ᴇʟᴇᴠᴇn Lions, also known as Uni-Lions (), are a professional baseball team playing in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). The Lions are based in Tainan City, Ta ...

of the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

(CPBL). He has played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

Career

Minnesota Twins

Hu was signed by the Minnesota Twins organization as an international free agent on August 3, 2012. He made his professional debut in 2013 with the

Gulf Coast Twins The Florida Complex League Twins are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays in Fort Myers, Florida, at the Lee County Sports Complex. Prior to 2021, t ...

, posting a 2.45 ERA in 12 appearances. In 2014, he pitched with the rookie-level Elizabethton Twins and Single-A

Cedar Rapids Kernels The Cedar Rapids Kernels are Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and play their home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Kernels are owned ...

, logging a cumulative 8–2 record and 2.15 ERA in 13 games, 12 of them starts. Hu began the 2015 season with the High-A

Fort Myers Miracle The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex at H ...

, and also pitched in 1 game for the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings.

Tampa Bay Rays

On July 31, 2015, the Twins traded Hu and Alexis Tapia to the

in exchange for

Kevin Jepsen Kevin Martin Jepsen (born July 26, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Tampa Bay Rays, Minnesota Twins, and Texas Rangers. Professional care ...

. He finished the year with the High-A

Charlotte Stone Crabs The Charlotte Stone Crabs were a Minor League Baseball team located in Port Charlotte, Florida, from 2009 to 2020. They competed in the Florida State League (FSL) as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

, but struggled to an 0–3 record and 7.36 ERA in 5 games. In 2016, Hu split the season between the Double-A

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

and the Triple-A

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

, recording a 7–9 record and 2.75 ERA with 114 strikeouts in 147.1 innings of work. Hu was named to the roster of the World team for the 2016 All-Star Futures Game. The Rays added him to their 40-man roster after the season. Hu began the 2017 season with Durham before being promoted to the major leagues for the first time on April 23. He made his MLB debut the following day, pitching a scoreless innings of relief against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

. He finished his rookie season with a 1–1 record and 2.70 ERA with 9 strikeouts in 10.0 innings of work across 6 appearances. In 2018, Hu spent the majority of the year in Durham, but recorded a 4.15 ERA in 5 appearances with the Rays.

Cleveland Indians

On November 19, 2018, Hu was traded to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

in exchange for minor league infielder Gionti Turner. Hu was assigned to the Triple-A Columbus Clippers to begin the 2019 season. On July 3, 2019, he was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Indians without having appeared in a game for the team. He was outrighted to Columbus, and later demoted to the Double-A

Akron RubberDucks The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

before being released by the Indians on July 30.

Chicago Cubs

On August 8, 2019, Hu signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs organization. He finished the year in Chicago's minor league system, posting a 2–2 record between the Triple-A Iowa Cubs and the Double-A

Tennessee Smokies The Tennessee Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Kodak, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They play at Smokies Stadium, directly off ...

. On November 4, 2019, he elected free agency.

San Diego Padres

On December 19, 2019, Hu signed a minor league contract with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

organization. Hu did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. On November 2, 2020, he elected free agency. In June 2021, an unnamed team in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) made an offer to sign Hu, but the amount was not enough to convince Hu to go overseas and he did not sign with the team.

Uni-President Lions

On July 1, 2021, Hu announced that he would enter the mid-season draft in the

(CPBL). He was selected fourth overall by the

International career

He played for Chinese Taipei at the 2014 Asian Games.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hu, Chih-wei 1993 births Living people Akron RubberDucks players Asian Games medalists in baseball Asian Games silver medalists for Chinese Taipei Baseball players at the 2014 Asian Games Baseball players from Taichung Cedar Rapids Kernels players Columbus Clippers players Durham Bulls players Elizabethton Twins players Fort Myers Miracle players Gulf Coast Twins players Iowa Cubs players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Taiwan Mayos de Navojoa players Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Montgomery Biscuits players Taiwanese expatriate baseball players in the United States Tampa Bay Rays players Tennessee Smokies players Rochester Red Wings players Taiwanese expatriate baseball players in Mexico