Angels Among Teams Interested in Top Japanese Pitcher: Report

Could the Angels sign him this offseason?

Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Angels are reportedly one of five teams interested in acquiring Japanese pitcher Shinnosuke Ogasawara, per Yahoo Japan. Ogasawara requested to be posted this offseason and his request was accepted by his Nippon Professional Baseball club, the Chunichi Dragons.

The Angels, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, and Toronto Blue Jays are all reportedly interested in Ogasawara.

Once all MLB teams have been notified that Ogasawara has been posted, Ogasawara and his team will have 45 days to get a deal from an MLB team. If this doesn't happen, he will return to the Dragons in 2025. If Ogasawara does sign with an MLB team, the Dragons will receive a cut of his contract that depends on the amount he signs for.

The 27-year-old joined the Dragons in 2016, and has gone 46-65 with a 3.62 ERA and 757 strikeouts over his career.

Along with Ogasawara, Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki will potentially get posted this offseason. Sasaki, who made his NPB debut in 2021, has a career ERA of 2.10 with 505 strikeouts. The Los Angeles Dodgers are reportedly the favorites to sign Sasaki if he does get posted this offseason.

The Angels certainly need more help with their pitching. Their last Japanese-born pitcher was, of course, Shohei Ohtani, who spent the 2018-23 seasons with the Angels before leaving for the Los Angeles Dodgers last offseason. During his time as an Angel, Ohtani was a two-time American League MVP and a three-time MLB All-Star.

Following the departure of Ohtani, the Angels had one of the worst ranked pitching units in baseball. Their combined ERA ranked 26th in MLB. They finished the 2024 season with the second-fewest strikeouts among all MLB clubs.

The Angels have made it clear that they are looking to improve their roster and contend in 2025, which they have started to do by trading for Jorge Soler from the Atlanta Braves. As part of that deal, the Angels shipped pitcher Griffin Canning to the Braves. The Angels are in need of better pitchers across the board, and could secure one answer to that position if they manage to land Ogasawara this offseason.

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