Taiwanese pitcher Jo-Hsi Hsu is signing with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball, as was first reported by ETtoday.
The deal is worth ¥1.5 billion (approximately $9.6 million), plus performance-based incentives. His decision ends a fierce bidding war involving multiple NPB and Major League Baseball clubs after the Chinese Professional Baseball League’s Wei Chuan Dragons allowed the star to enter the posting system last week.
According to Yahoo Taiwan’s Yihsuan Wang, Hsu “considered opportunities to play in the U.S., with the Dodgers being one of the teams that made an offer,” but ultimately determined that a move to Japan made more sense for the 25-year-old at this stage of his career. Now, he will have the chance to prove himself against higher-level competition as a starter, and could still make the jump to North America at age 28, positioning himself for a significant payday.
Hsu joins a juggernaut SoftBank club fresh off a Japan Series championship and renowned for its relentless pursuit of roster upgrades every offseason. Sadaharu Oh, NPB’s all-time home run king and the Hawks’ current CBO, reportedly met with Hsu in November as the organization swiftly worked to secure the prized right-hander.
Hsu has been nothing short of dominant across four CPBL seasons, posting a 2.42 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and a 29% strikeout rate against a 5.8% walk rate over 305 innings. In 2025, he pitched for Chinese Taipei at the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in February before setting a career high with 114 frames in 19 starts. He features a four-seam fastball that sits 93-95 mph and touches 98, along with a cutter, sinker, changeup, and curveball.
Perhaps Hsu’s biggest challenge will be adjusting to a longer season as NPB plays 143 games compared to the CPBL’s 120. He has never thrown more than 115 innings a year and has shown difficulty maintaining his top-end velocity deeper into outings. That said, Hsu has the talent to even outperform fellow Taiwanese right-hander Ruei Yang Gu Lin, who is coming off a strong debut campaign with the rival Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.
Photo: Jo Hsi Hsu #18 of Wei Chuan Dragons pitches in the top of the first inning during the CPBL game between Rakuten Monkeys and Wei Chuan Dragons at Taipei Dome on March 30, 2024 in Taipei, Taiwan. (Photo by Gene Wang/Getty Images)
