Aoyagi hopes to become trailblazer for Phillies

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Koyo Aoyagi has been a side-armed right-hander for as long as he can remember.

He needed to be, he said.

¡°I couldn¡¯t throw overhand,¡± Aoyagi joked through his interpreter on Friday afternoon at BayCare Ballpark.

Aoyagi, 31, is in Phillies camp this spring as a non-roster invitee. He is expected to start the season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, but the Phils think he might help them at some point. Of course, they also signed him because they have been trying hard to make inroads into the Japanese baseball market, having generated no interest from stars like Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki.

¡°Me pitching on a big league mound would definitely bring some attention to the Phillies,¡± Aoyagi said. ¡°That¡¯ll be able to recruit more Japanese players. So that would be a big thing.¡±

Aoyagi has pitched nine seasons in Japan¡¯s Nippon Professional Baseball League. He is a three-time All-Star, most recently in 2022 with the Hanshin Tigers. He helped Hanshin win the Japan Series championship in 2023, pitching 4 2/3 scoreless innings as a starter in the decisive Game 7. He helped Japan win the gold medal in the 2020 Olympics.

But he also spent time in each of the past two seasons pitching in their Minor Leagues.

¡°The past four years I¡¯ve been talking to my team in Japan about playing in the States,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m very excited to be here. ¡­ The past few years, I haven¡¯t been able to live up to my potential. Three years ago, I played really well in Japan. I still have that potential.¡±

The Phillies like that Aoyagi provides a different look as a sidearmer. There isn¡¯t a ton of data out there about pitchers like that.

¡°Whenever you have different looks coming out of the bullpen, it¡¯s good,¡± Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. ¡°You¡¯re not going to have seven guys that throw 100 [mph] with great sliders.¡±

If Aoyagi pitches for the Phils, he will be just the third Japanese player in their history, joining Tadahito Iguchi (2007-08) and So Taguchi (2008).

But Aoyagi would be the first Japanese player that they signed directly from Japan.

Aoyagi, who has never been to the U.S. before, is looking forward to the opportunity.

¡°In the States, there are so many countries represented in the Major Leagues,¡± Aoyagi said. ¡°I¡¯m extremely excited about that, being able to see how my stuff plays. The past few years in Japan, I wasn¡¯t able to perform to the best of my abilities, but the Phillies still saw something in me. For that, I just really wanted to play for this team.¡±