Vadim Balan

From BR Bullpen

Vadim Balan

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 6' 1", Weight 195 lb.

BR register page

Biographical Information[edit]

Vadim Balan was the first minor leaguer from Moldova; his brother Petru Balan followed him.

Vadim was in the MLB European Academy in 2013. He opened 2015 in the Czech Extraliga with the Arrows Ostrava. Despite an unimpressive record there in May and June (0-1, 12.71 ERA, 17 BB in 5 2/3 IP), he was signed by Minnesota Twins scout Glenn Godwin June 1. He was assigned to the GCL Twins. He got into one game, on May 26 against the GCL Rays. Relieving South African Callan Pearce with a 6-2 deficit, two on and one out in the 5th, he struck out Ryan Caldwell, hit Joseph Astacio and whiffed Juan Rodriguez to end the jam. He went 1-2-3 in the 6th, striking out two more; Casey Gillaspie was the only batter of the six he faced to make contact, grounding out as Balan's US debut was much sharper than his work in the Czech Republic. He was part of a very diverse GCL Twins team; in addition to the players from South Africa and Moldova, there were at least two players apiece from each of Australia, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the US, Venezuela and the Netherlands. He did not make any other appearances that year and a back injury kept him out in 2016.

In 2017, he was 1-1 with four saves and a 2.31 ERA for the GCL Twins, tying for 7th in the Gulf Coast League in saves. Despite a 2.03 ERA in his ten games in the minors, that marked the end of his time in the Twins chain. He moved to the Russian national team for the 2019 B-Level European Championship, joining his brother on the roster. He relieved his brother with a 11-5 lead over Greece in the 8th. He struck out John Kalivas, got Jamie Lekas on a grounder, walked Max Warren and walked Nick Spiliotis. Tom Roulis then hit a three-run homer before Balan recovered to fan Ari Sechopoulos. Rody Castelló took over. Relieving his brother with a 7-7 tie against Israel, he got Assaf Lowengart to hit into a force. In the 8th, he struck out Tal Erel, retired Mitch Glasser, walked Robb Paller and got Blake Gailen on a fly. In the 9th, Simon Rosenbaum singled but Zach Penprase bunted into a force. Balan struck out Noam Calisar and got Jeremy Wolf on a fly. Maksim Makarkin replaced him in the 10th. In the finale against Israel, he relieved Castellóo in the 9th with two out and one on. He walked Lowengart then threw back-to-back wild pitches to give Israel the winning runs. He struck out Erel but it was too little, too late.

He was on Russia's team that won the 2021 European Championship Qualifier but did not play. Russia made it to the 2021 European Championship, where he joined another player to be first from his country (Alex Lukashevich of Belarus) to the minors. He got into one game this time, starting against 15th-place France and losing to Quentin Moulin. He struck out Paolo Brossier, walked Léo Jiminian and Félix Brown but Jiminian was caught stealing in between then Andy Paz hit into a force. Given a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, he retired Louis Brainville and Daniel Patrice (K) then things fell apart. He walked José Paula and Nolan Soliveres, hit Martin Vissac then yielded a three-run double to Brossier. After Jiminian grounded out, he was relieved in the third by Castelló.

Also see List of first players to sign with a MLB team from different countries.

Sources[edit]

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