It was reported around 11 p.m. PST on Wednesday night, which was actually around 5 p.m. local time in Adelaide, Australia, that the Dodgers had signed 27-year-old right-hander Markus Solbach of the Adelaide Bite, one of eight professional teams in the Australian Baseball League.

“I didn’t think anything was going to happen until New Year’s Eve when I got a call from [Australian scout] Jon Deeble, and within 30 minutes I called him back and confirmed I wanted to be a Dodger in 2019,” Solbach told reporters. “All along I knew what the ABL had to offer and players from the Bite had told me Adelaide was a great place to be and pitch.”

Ironically, Solbach is not Australian. He was born in Dormagen, Germany (hence his nickname “The Big Germ”) and spent six seasons pitching in the (U.S.) minor leagues with the Minnesota Twins and Arizona Diamondbacks organizations, reaching the Advanced Single-A level with the latter.

“This is what I’ve been waiting for over the last two and a half years and I thank the Dodgers for giving me this opportunity and the Bite for letting me showcase myself in front of scouts in such a great team and league,” said Solbach.

Although it was not specified, the 6′-5″ / 205-pound right-hander will probably receive an invitation to Dodgers major league spring training camp next month.

G’day, mate!