Former Reds pitcher Keyvius Sampson has agreed to a deal to return to the Uni-Lions of China’s Professional Baseball League (H/T CPBL Stats).
Sampson, 32 yesterday, made ten starts for the team last year, pitching to a 3.54 ERA over 61 innings. He also spent time in independent ball, logging 37 innings of 3.41 ERA ball for Lexington.
A fourth round draft pick by the Padres back in 2009, Sampson was taken off waivers by the Reds in 2015. He made his big league debut that year, making 12 starts (13 appearances) and working to a 6.54 ERA over 52 1/3 innings. The Reds shifted him to the bullpen in 2016, and Sampson enjoyed a bit of improvement from his rookie campaign, working to a 4.35 ERA over 39 1/3 innings. A high walk and home run rate meant the underlying numbers were far less promising though, and the Reds cut ties with Sampson at the end of the season.
Since then, he’s bounced around a fair bit, inking minor league deals with the Diamondbacks, Rangers, Marlins, Giants and most recently the White Sox back in 2021. He never made it back to the big leagues during that time though, and worked to a 5.40 ERA over 315 innings at Triple-A. Dotted throughout that time has been stints in Korea, Mexico and Venezuela.
