Saitama Seibu Lions left-hander Chihiro Sumida has been called up to Samurai Japan for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, the national team announced on Friday.
Sumida will replace Hanshin Tigers right-hander Daichi Ishii, who withdrew from the team on Thursday after suffering a left Achilles injury during practice. He becomes the second addition from the designated pitcher pool, following Shoma Fujihira, who was called up earlier to replace the injured Kaima Taira.
Sumida, 26, was the top pitching prospect in the 2021 Nippon Professional Baseball Draft and has steadily developed into one of the league’s premier left-handers. In 2025, he posted a career-best 2.59 ERA (116 ERA+) across 159 ⅔ innings, along with a 23.1% strikeout rate and a 5.3% walk rate, ranking firmly among NPB’s top 10 pitchers by WAR. His changeup and splitter both grade out as elite pitches.
There was speculation that relievers Kazuki Sugiyama or Shinya Matsuyama would be selected, but manager Hirokazu Ibata opted for Sumida, whom he is also familiar with in international play, having included him on both the 2023 Asia Professional Baseball Championship and the 2024 WBSC Premier12 rosters. He was particularly impressive in the latter tournament, recording 16 strikeouts without issuing a walk over eight innings while allowing just two runs. That performance included two scoreless relief innings with five strikeouts in the gold medal game versus Chinese Taipei.
Sumida will likely be deployed as a multi-inning reliever during the WBC. With his inclusion, Japan now carries a whopping five left-handed pitchers on the roster, joining Hiroya Miyagi, Ryuhei Sotani, Yusei Kikuchi, and Yuki Matsui.
Photo: Chihiro Sumida has been added to Samurai Japan’s roster for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
