Happy holidays! Baseball probably isn’t the main thing on people’s minds right now, but the offseason goes on! Last week, we looked at which foreign players are joining new teams in Nippon Professional Baseball. But who are some of the Japanese players making moves via free agency? Let’s take a look at some of the biggest winter signings so far.
Kuri was originally a candidate to test the MLB market but elected to stay in Japan, switching teams from the Hiroshima Carp to the Orix Buffaloes. The 33-year-old reportedly signed for three years and will be expected to stabilize the middle of Orix’s rotation in 2025. In 11 seasons in Hiroshima, Kuri compiled a solid 71-67 record with a 3.49 ERA and 17.7 K% across 1260 frames. The Buffaloes, who missed the playoffs in 2024 after winning three consecutive pennants from 2021-2023, will hope the Tottori native can help get their franchise back on track. Kuri’s addition further solidifies the team’s starting rotation, led by Hiroya Miyagi and Shunpeita Yamashita, as one of the best in NPB.
Uwasawa was posted by the Nippon-Ham Fighters last winter and signed a minor league pact with the Tampa Bay Rays. He was traded to the Boston Red Sox before the regular season started and made his MLB debut on May 2. He only made two appearances in the big leagues, allowing one run, and struggled in AAA Worcester with a 7.63 ERA across 59 innings. Rather than continuing to grind it out in the minors, the 30-year-old decided to return to NPB, signing a four-year contract with the SoftBank Hawks. To the disappointment of Hokkaido fans, he now follows in the footsteps of Kohei Arihara, becoming another former Fighters pitcher who left for MLB and signed with a rival upon returning to Japan.
Ishikawa immediately got a taste of winning after joining the SoftBank Hawks in 2017, being a part of four Japan Series championship teams from 2017-2020. He was an anchor in Fukuoka’s rotation for eight seasons, pitching to a 3.32 ERA and 20.7 K% over 822 innings, including a 2.56 ERA in 2024. The 32-year-old exercised his free-agent rights this winter, signing with the Lotte Marines after negotiating with five teams. Chiba fans will be praying that he can help fill the void left by Roki Sasaki, though putting those lofty expectations on him is unfair.
Kai came up with prospects like Kodai Senga from the SoftBank Hawks developmental system in the early 2010s and eventually established himself as one of NPB’s top two-way catchers, winning six Japan Series championships and becoming a mainstay on the national team. His so-called “Kai Cannon” has become recognized as a special tool to throw out runners on the basepaths, and he is now rated as a plus blocker and framer behind the dish as well. The 32-year-old now joins the Yomiuri Giants, giving the team a plethora of quality backstops to pick from between Kai, fellow 2023 WBC member Takumi Ohshiro, and youngster Yukinori Kishida.
Mogi made the All-Star team in 2019 with a .282/.358/.421 slash line in 141 games and looked like one of the league’s defensive standouts on the left side of the infield. He continued to have success with the Rakuten Eagles until 2021 but has struggled to get playing time over the past few seasons due to injuries and a dip in performance. Still, his career .271/.347/.421 line and excellent third base defense were enough for the Yakult Swallows to take a flier on the 30-year-old. He may be deployed as more of a utility man in 2025 before potentially taking over full-time for Munetaka Murakami at third when the superstar slugger is inevitably posted to MLB at the conclusion of next season.
- NPB Standings
- Central League Hitting Leaders
- Central League Pitching Leaders
- Pacific League Hitting Leaders
- Pacific League Pitching Leaders
- Yakyu Cosmopolitan’s Website
