Cedeno signed a contract Tuesday with the Orix Buffaloes of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
He's guaranteed $500,000 and can earn an additional $350,000 in incentives. Cedeno had a breakout season between Double-A Amarillo and Triple-A Reno in the Diamondbacks organization, posting a .918 OPS with 32 home runs.
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Leandro Cedeno: Becomes MiLB free agent
Rotowire
Cedeno became a free agent Thursday.
Cedeno had a .308/.372/.561 slash line with 30 home runs and 93 RBI at the Double-A level before he was promoted to Triple-A in September. The Diamondbacks elected not to add him to the 40-man roster, which allowed him to become a minor-league free agent.
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Diamondbacks' Leandro Cedeno: Mashes way to Triple-A
Rotowire
Cedeno was promoted to Triple-A Reno on Tuesday, Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com reports.
Cedeno has mammoth raw power, even hitting a 527-foot home run earlier this year while playing in the hitter-friendly park in Amarillo. On the season, the 24-year-old first baseman/left fielder hit .310/.374/.563 with 30 home runs and a 23.4 percent strikeout rate in 109 games at Double-A.
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Diamondbacks' Leandro Cedeno: Smacks monster homer
Rotowire
Cedeno launched a solo home run that traveled 527 feet Saturday for Double-A Amarillo, Ethan Sands of MLB.com reports.
After striking out in his first two at-bats, Cedeno hammered the baseball in his third plate appearance to tie the game. The 23-year-old first-base prospect has been hitting homers all season, ranking fourth in the Texas League with 18. Cedeno is batting .303 with 60 RBI over 72 games for the Sod Poodles.
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Diamondbacks' Leandro Cedeno: Hot start with new club
Rotowire
Cedeno, 23, is hitting .378/.435/.720 with seven home runs, a 9.8 BB% and a 16.3 K% in 92 plate appearances for Double-A Amarillo.
Cedeno had spent his whole pro career with the Cardinals until he signed a minor-league deal with Arizona this past offseason. This performance is a far cry from what he had done with St. Louis from 2019 through 2021, when he had been roughly a league average hitter at Single-A, High-A and Double-A. He is limited to first base, designated hitter and left field, so continuing to mash after presumably getting a midseason promotion to Triple-A will be critical for him to get opportunities in the big leagues down the road.
