How Recently Acquired Japanese Hurler Fared In Organizational Debut

Boston could use the added pitching depth

Mar 15, 2024; Port Charlotte, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Naoyuki Uwasawa (36) throws a / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Red Sox entered the 2024 season with a lackluster pitching staff, but help may be on the way.

Before the season even started, newly acquired star Lucas Giolito went down for the year with an elbow injury. Giolito's injury would mark the start of an unfortunate set of injuries for Red Sox hurlers, with the latest being Nick Pivetta, who was placed on the 15-day injured list with an elbow strain.

Like last year, Boston may be dipping into the minor league talent pool to get the pitching staff through the season, and newly acquired Naoyuki Uwasawa could be given the nod to take the mound at Fenway in the near future.

Uwasawa posted a 2.96 ERA with 124-to-41 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 170 innings pitched across 24 games for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of the Nippon Professional Baseball League last year.

In his first start for the Worcester Red Sox, the righty allowed three earned runs on four hits and a walk with five strikeouts across five innings pitched. The performance was up and down but Uwasawa showed promise amid his stateside debut.

There is still work to be done, but it was an encouraging debut in the Red Sox organization for the 30-year-old who was traded to Boston by the Tampa Bay Rays in spring training.

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