Philadelphia Phillies Make More Camp Cuts With Japanese Star Among Them

The Philadelphia Phillies made more roster cuts, and their Japanese offseason signing was one of them.

Feb 28, 2025; Clearwater, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Koyo Aoyagi (31) throws a pitch during the fourth inning against the Boston Red Sox at BayCare Ballpark / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

For the past two years, the Philadelphia Phillies have been wading in the waters when it comes to landing their first-ever Japanese player from Nippon Professional Baseball, but they have come up short both times.

The first was disappointing.

The Phillies made Yoshinobu Yamamoto a monster offer in free agency, but he ultimately chose to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

One cycle later during this offseason, they didn't even get a meeting with Roki Sasaki, showcasing how far the franchise still has to go when it comes to their viability within the Japanese market.

But, Philadelphia did add Japanese international Koyo Aoyagi on a minor league contract this winter, extending him a non-roster invite to their Major League camp where he had an opportunity to win a bullpen role.

That isn't going to happen, though.

The Phillies announced some recent roster cuts they made to camp, and Aoyagi was among them.

Prior to today’s game, the Phillies reassigned the following players to minor league camp: RHP’s Koyo Aoyagi, Jose Cuas, Joel Kuhnel, John McMillon & Guillo Zuniga, LHP Nick Vespi and INF Rodolfo Castro.

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) March 15, 2025

As can be seen from this release, plenty of pitchers were sent to minor league camp as part of their latest roster moves, creating a clearer picture of what the relief staff might look like when they get the 2025 campaign underway.

Aoyagi, Jose Cuas and Nick Vespi were considered legitimate contenders for a role, but with all six of these pitchers being non-roster invites, the margin of error was slim for all of them despite there being openings in the bullpen.

Vespi does not have a minor league option remaining, so there is a good chance he'll hit the open market looking for work elsewhere.

Aoyagi, Cuas, John McMillon and Guillo Zuniga have options left, so they could begin the year in the minors waiting for the call up to The Show.

Circling back to Aoyagi, this is a bit of disappointing news.

The right-hander talked about his excitement about playing for Philadelphia and playing an important part in how fellow Japanese players might view the franchise as an option for themselves when they are looking to come to Major League Baseball.

Not having him on the roster hurts that.

But at the end of the day, the Phillies have to do what's best to win right now, not putting someone on the roster who is not able to perform at a level that helps the team secure victories if he can only help them with their footprint in Japan.

Aoyagi could still have a role with Philadelphia at some point this year, but it won't be on Opening Day after getting sent back to minor league camp.

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