Tony Barnette's strange career path took him from the Minors to Japan and now, the Majors

Players leaving the Majors to head to Japan isn't all that strange. After all, Wily Mo Pena has been smashing dingers there since 2012, Matt Murton set the single-season hits record while with the Hanshin Tigers in 2010 and just this past year Kris Johnson, with all of 23 2/3 MLB innings to his name, led the league with a 1.85 ERA. 

Occasionally, players come back, like Ryan Vogelsong when he returned to become an All-Star in 2011, or Casey McGehee when he won the Comeback Player of the Year in 2014. 

But rarely do they come back to sign a Major League deal after having never made their MLB debut in the first place.

Then there's Tony Barnette, who reportedly signed a two-year deal with the Rangers pending a physical. 

Originally drafted by the D-backs in the 10th round in 2006, Barnette struggled in four seasons, eventually topping out in Triple-A with a 5.85 ERA. Granted, it was the offensively heightened environment in Reno, where no pitcher with at least 20 starts had an ERA under 5.00, but still -- you're not usually getting a callup with numbers like that. 

Instead, Barnette went to Japan, where he joined the Yakult Swallows. After initially struggling in the rotation, even earning his release, the team brought him back as a reliever -- one who enters to Van Halen, if you were curious.

Since then, Barnette has proved dominant and finished 2015 with a 1.29 ERA and 41 saves. 

Even better, now with long hair and a beard, he looks ready to step in as your favorite mid-90s closer, too. Just watch as he ends the game by getting the opposition to whiff on an outside breaking ball (2:40 in the video):

And if you want to know what it feels like to watch Barnette close out a game, you're in luck thanks to the modern technology of cell phones:  

All of that was enough to catch the Rangers' attention. And as a bonus perk, on days when he's unavailable, he can help fill in for the ballpark organist, too.