Inside The Phillies

New Philadelphia Phillies Pitcher Wants To Help More Japanese Players Sign With Team

The Philadelphia Phillies have not had a lot of Japanese pitchers in their organization, but their newest international signee hopes to be an example to the rest.

Cameron Zunkel

Feb 16, 2025; Clearwater, FL, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Koyo Aoyagi (31) participates in spring training workouts at BayCare Ballpark.
Feb 16, 2025; Clearwater, FL, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Koyo Aoyagi (31) participates in spring training workouts at BayCare Ballpark. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
In this story:

The Philadelphia Phillies have not had too many Japanese pitchers join their team. However, that could change as they have non-roster invitee Koyo Aoyagi with them at Spring Training.

Aoyagi will most likely start the season in Triple-A. That is not to say he won't find his way to Citizens Bank Park at some point this season, though.

The right-handed submariner played nine seasons in Japan, and a lot of that time was spent coming out of the bullpen. In the NPB, he appeared in 154 games, threw 898.1 total innings and had an ERA of 3.08. Aoyagi is not much of a strikeout pitcher, but his funky delivery induces a lot of weak contact.

He is hoping he can lead other Japanese superstars to sign with the Phillies.

"Me pitching on a big league mound would definitely bring some attention to the Phillies. That’ll be able to recruit more Japanese players. So that would be a big thing.” Aoyagi said in an interview from Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.

They have only had two other Japanese pitchers take the Major League mound for them, so Aoyagi would be the third if he makes an appearance.

It is not going to be easy for the 31-year-old to get onto this MLB roster, though.

Heading into the year, Philadelphia's pitching staff is fully healthy. This means there is going to be some incredible competition during Spring Training. Aoyagi is going to have to out-pitch some of his teammates in order to make the active roster.

Aoyagi threw his first bullpen for the Phillies on Sunday, and it easy to see why he was invited to Spring Training.

His sidewinding motion is very hard to track as a hitter, so there is a spot for him if he pitches well enough.

Speaking Zolecki, manager Rob Thomson acknowledged the importance of switching up looks out of the bullpen.

"Whenever you have different looks coming out of the bullpen, it’s good. You’re not going to have seven guys that throw 100 [mph] with great sliders." he said.

Aoyagi could be the guy Philadelphia goes to in order to switch up those looks.

In his mind, pitching for the Phillies would be a win-win. If he pitches well, and the Phillies get back to competing in the World Series, the team would be seen by more international eyes. Specifically, they would be seen by more Japanese stars as a favorable destination.

Along with pitching in the bigs, Aoyagi would love to get more Japanese players to Philadelphia.

Recommended Articles

Published
Cameron Zunkel
CAMERON ZUNKEL

Home/News