The Major League Baseball season officially began with the Tokyo Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs. The first game between the two teams featured two Japanese-born starters, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shōta Imanaga. These pitchers are two of nine MLB starters of international descent scheduled to start on Opening Day in 2025.
With 28 teams left to start their seasons, there will be seven more international-born opening day starters:
Milwaukee Brewers – Freddy Peralta (Dominican Republic)
Toronto Blue Jays – José Berríos (Puerto Rico)
Houston Astros – Framber Valdez (Dominican Republic)
Los Angeles Angels – Yusei Kikuchi (Japan)
Miami Marlins – Sandy Alcántara (Dominican Republic)
Minnesota Twins – Pablo López (Venezuela)
The Athletics – Luis Severino (Dominican Republic)
Including Imanaga and Yamamoto, 2025 features nine international-born opening day starters. Between the nine of them, they have 12 All-Star selections.
Last season featured 11 international-born opening day starters. Starters to start on opening day in 2024, but not this year, include Luis Castillo, Brayan Bello, Yu Darvish, Nestor Cortés, Jesús Luzardo, Jose Quintana and Frankie Montas.
Kikuchi and Severino will be starting for their respective teams after signing new contracts this offseason. Injuries and spring build-up obviously play a role in who starts on opening day for any team. However, nearly a third of the league starting international-born starters on opening day is a testament to how deep pitching talent is around the world.
WBN MLB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/mlb/
Photo: Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) throws during the third inning of a spring training baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Tuesday, March. 4, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)
