Left-hander Shinnosuke Ogasawara will join the MLB ranks after NPB’s Chunichi Dragons granted his posting request, Yahoo Japan reports. WME will represent Ogasawara in free agency negotiations this winter. The Dragons will post Ogasawara, giving him 45 days to sign with any MLB team. If the Dragons and Ogasawara do not reach an agreement, he will remain with the team for the 2025 season. Due to Chunichi’s last-place finishes in the Central League for three straight years, Ogasawara has now set his eyes on MLB.
NPB’s Chunichi Dragons Set to Lose Shinnosuke Ogasawara to MLB
Ogasawara, 27, made his debut for the Dragons in 2016. He finished his rookie campaign posting a 2-6 record with a 3.38 ERA. This past season, Ogasawara threw 144 1/4 innings with a strong 3.12 ERA a 3.7% walk rate and a career-worst 13.6% strikeout rate. In nine seasons for Chunichi, Ogasawara compiled a 46-75 record with a 3.62 ERA.
Ogasawara has a pitching arsenal that includes a four-seam fastball ranging from 91 to 93 mph, a changeup in the low 80s, and a slow knuckle curve that sits in the low 70s. While his velocity and physique do not particularly stand out, he is 5’11” and weighs 183 pounds, which is comparable to Shota Imanaga of the Chicago Cubs, who measures 5’10” and weighs 175 pounds.
How MLB teams will value Ogasawara is still to be determined. However, he will be one of the youngest rotation candidates available in this year’s free-agent market. Ogasawara is the second pitcher from Japan to enter MLB as an international free agent. The first is right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano, who is considered the most successful Japanese pitcher of his generation. Sugano, 35, posted an impressive 1.67 ERA over his starts for the Central League champion Yomiuri Giants. He is a two-time winner of the Sawamura Award, which is the Japanese equivalent of the Cy Young Award. Additionally, he has been named the Central League MVP twice and is a four-time ERA champion.
Main Photo: © Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
