February 17, 2025
Avila agreed to a contract Wednesday with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball,
SI.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Avila will head overseas after he elected free agency in January rather than accepting an outright assignment to the Guardians' Triple-A affiliate. The 28-year-old righty made 54 regular-season appearances in the big leagues in 2024 between stops with the Padres and Guardians, logging a 3.81 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 82:36 K:BB in 82.2 innings. Though he worked exclusively as a reliever last season, he could transition back to a starting role as he heads to Japan.