Another Japanese pitcher has officially been posted. Right-handed pitcher Koyo Aoyagi has been posted among international free agents for the 2024-25 offseason. He has pitched his entire nine-year career in Nippon Professional Baseball with the Hanshin Tigers. He will now have a 45-day negotiating window with MLB teams.
Aoyagi debuted with the Tigers in 2016 at 22-years-old. He would pitch in the Tigers bullpen his rookie season before transitioning to the starting rotation the following season. In 23 games in 2017, Aoyagi went 7-10, posting a 3.10 ERA in 23 games, striking out 90 batters in 125.2 innings pitched.
As for his 2021 and 2022 seasons, Aoyagi was a dominant factor for the Tigers. Making 25 starts in 2021, he went 13-6 with a 2.48 ERA, pitching in 156 innings, striking out 107. The following season, he was even stronger, going 13-4 in 26 starts, recording a 2.07 ERA, and throwing two complete-game shutouts while punching out 137 batters in 169.1 innings of work, only walking 34 batters.
His performance was not his best for the following two seasons. In 2023, he made 23 starts, going 10-7, with his ERA climbing to 4.07, only striking out 85 batters in 132.1 innings. As for this season, Aoyagi lowered his ERA to 3.00 for 2024, pitching to a 7-6 record in 23 starts, but only threw in 114 innings, striking out 78 batters and walking 39.
It will be interesting to see if Aoyagi receives a major league contract. Still, as he wants to challenge himself, he is open to signing a minor-league contract to pursue his dream of playing baseball in the United States.
“I won an individual title for the first time (in 2021), and I’ve wanted to throw in the major leagues in the United States since I experienced the Tokyo Olympics…I wanted to challenge,” explained Aoyagi, who represented Japan at the 2021 Olympics.
He is following in the footsteps of his former teammate, Shintaro Fujinami, who pitched for the Tigers from 2013 to 2022. It will be intriguing to see which MLB team is willing to take a flier on Koyo Aoyagi, as teams can now negotiate a contract with him.
