The Japanese pitchers Shota Imanaga and Naoyuki Uwasawa are now listed and could be pursued by the Philadelphia Phillies.
Pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto is a superstar in the NPB, and the Philadelphia Phillies are prepared to use their own stars to entice him in free agency. There might be additional choices if that doesn’t work.
Two more Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers, Naoyuki Uwasawa of the Nippon-Ham Fighters and Shota Imanaga of the Yokohama BayStars, were listed for MLB free agency on Monday. Having been posted, they are now attainable by all 30 MLB teams. By January 11th, if an agreement cannot be reached, both parties’ rights will revert to their respective NPB teams.
The Kyodo News reported Imanaga’s posting, while MLB.com reported Uwasawa’s posting.
The Phillies are believed to be among the 11 to 14 teams that have expressed an interest in Yamamoto, who is expected to get a contract in excess of $200 million. The Orix Buffaloes star was posted last Monday, and Phillies stars like Bryce Harper are expected to support the Phillies’ pursuit.
Yamamoto has until January 4th to finalize a contract. With a career record of 70-29 and a 1.21 ERA in 2023, the 25-year-old pitched 16-6 with 169 strikeouts in 164 innings. Earlier in the season, he pitched his second no-hitter of the year.
Since the 2019 season began, Imanaga, a 30-year-old left-hander, has a 2.79 ERA, a 26.2 percent strikeout rate, and a 5.9 percent walk rate.
In 2023, he recorded a 2.80 ERA while striking out almost thirty percent of the batters he faced in 148 innings. Just 3.8% of the batters he faced were walks.
According to MLB Trade Rumors, Imanaga may sign a five-year contract worth $85 million.
Right-hander Uwasawa, who turns 30 in January, lacks Imanaga’s strikeout ability with a career strikeout percentage of 19.7 percent. Coming off a 2023 campaign in which he walked just 5.9 percent of the players he faced while posting a 2.96 ERA in 170 innings, he has a strong walk rate of 7.5%.
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