Nippon Professional Baseball’s Chiba Lotte Marines are signing right-handed pitcher Andre Jackson, the club announced.
Jackson has spent the past two seasons with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, compiling a 2.60 ERA and 3.43 FIP over 50 starts with an 18.8% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate. He now moves to the opposite side of Tokyo Bay, where Lotte hopes the 29-year-old can continue to provide stable innings after back-to-back qualified seasons.
An Arizona native, Jackson made his Major League debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2021 and was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash considerations in 2023. Overall, he logged a respectable 4.25 ERA and 4.51 FIP over 82 2/3 innings at the MLB level.
He signed with DeNA in 2024 and posted a 104 ERA+ in his debut season, then took a step forward in 2025 with a 132 ERA+, even as some of his peripheral numbers regressed. He also played a major role in the BayStars’ Cinderella run to the 2024 Japan Series title alongside fellow import Anthony Kay, pitching to a 2.28 ERA with 29 strikeouts over 23 ⅔ postseason innings.
The BayStars likely would have considered bringing him back for a third season had they not signed former Hanshin Tigers right-hander Jon Duplantier as his replacement. He now joins Sam Long and Jose Castillo as new foreign additions for the Marines this offseason.
Lotte is coming off a last-place finish in the Pacific League, with its rotation posting the league’s worst collective FIP-. On paper, Jackson is an upgrade over Austin Voth and Bryan Sammons from last season.
The Marines have also shown a preference for importing foreigners with prior NPB experience, and Jackson becomes the 11th such acquisition over the past decade, most recently following Neftali Soto, also from DeNA.
Photo: Andre Jackson delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
