List of former Houston Astros players trying to revive their careers overseas

Similarly to America's Major League Baseball, Japanese and Korean leagues have gotten their regular seasons underway as well. Baseball overseas may be something of a new concept to casual fans of the game, but make no mistake about it - these leagues feature some of the greatest talents the world has ever known. Some may never even make it over to the States, but there is no doubt that the players over there are otherworldly talents.

In Japan, Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB for short) has developed some of the biggest talents in the world in recent years. Shohei Ohtani comes to mind, as does Ichiro from years past. The NPB season is 143 games long and features a total of 12 teams spread across two leagues.

In South Korea, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) has also kicked things off. Their season is 144 games long and has a total of 10 teams competing for the championship.

For some players who have struggled in Major League Baseball, it's not uncommon to see them take their talents overseas in an effort to rebuild some value. There are quite a few examples of players out there who have competed in Japan or Korea and found huge success, eventually returning to the States and continuing their career in MLB.

Each league has rules against how many "foreign" players can be rostered at any given time. In the NPB, there's no limit to how many foreign players can be in the organization, but only four are allowed at the same time. At no time can there be four position players or four pitchers, there can only be a maximum of three of each.

In the KBO, the rules are largely the same. The foreign limit in Korea is set at three, with no more than two of them being pitchers. Up until 2014, there was a limit of only two foreign players allowed at any given time.

This year, there are a handful of former Houston Astros players who fall under this category. From a longtime starter to a power-hitting outfielder, let's check out which players are attempting to revive their careers overseas in 2023.

Domingo Santana - Yakult Swallows (NPB)

Santana, 30, joins Sneed on the Yakult Swallows in Japan. The power-hitting outfielder did not have much of a tenure in the big leagues with the Astros, playing just 20 games before he was flipped to the Brewers alongside Josh Hader in what became one heck of a lopsided deal.

With Milwaukee, Santana turned into a huge power threat, reaching 30 home runs in 2017 with the club, posting a 126 OPS+ along the way. His big league career began to trail off a bit after he left the Brewers (outside of a decent 2019 season with the Mariners), and he has not been seen in the majors since 2020 with Cleveland.

Now, Santana finds himself entering his third season in Japan. His career overseas has gone well, as he has 38 home runs and 107 runs driven in across 205 games, posting a .284 average and .872 OPS along the way. He continues to post consistent averages in the .270-.290 range and is still an annual threat to hit somewhere around 20-25 home runs.

In the current season, he has 32 games under his belt. In 105 at-bats, he has four home runs, 12 runs scored, 10 driven in and a .276 batting average. There's no doubt that he could still be a major league-caliber outfielder/designated hitter, so don't be surprised to see him Stateside before he calls it a career.

Dan Straily - Lotte Giants (KBO)

Straily had only been two years removed from a strong fourth-place finish in the AL Rookie of the Year voting when he joined the Astros via trade alongside Luis Valbuena. Things had gone so well for him the year prior, but the wheels truly began to come off in 2014 and 2015.

In that 2015 season for the Astros, Straily wound up making just four appearances for the big league club. He spent the vast majority of the year pitching for Triple-A Fresno, but the numbers weren't necessarily encouraging (4.77 ERA in 122+ innings and 22 starts).

As these things usually go, Straily got a bit better once he left Houston, posting a 113 ERA+ in 2016 with the Reds, but not much else to speak of. Since 2020, he has actually been a consistent member of the KBO for the Lotte Giants.

Straily, now 34, has done well in parts of four seasons overseas. In 78 starts, he is 29-20 with an ERA of 3.22, striking out nine batters per nine innings and keeping his HR/9 at an impressive 0.6 rate.

In the current season, things haven't started off the best for him. In five starts, he has a 5.82 ERA thanks to 14 earned runs on 20 hits in just 21.2 innings of work. Walks have been way up for him while strikeouts are down. This could either be him showing his age, or he could just need some time to turn it around. Either way, Straily's name doesn't exactly bring warm and fuzzy feelings to your everyday Astros fan.