Nationals Sign Japanese Pitcher Shinnosuke Ogasawara


The Nationals reached agreement with Japanese lefthander Shinnosuke Ogasawara on Friday. Financial details of the two-year contract haven’t been released, but Ogasawara’s signing is the first of it kind for the Nationals organization. Ogasawara is Washington’s first signing of a player out of Asia in team history.
The Chunichi Dragons posted the 27-year-old lefty on Dec. 10. Teams have a 45-day negotiating window with players posted by NPB clubs, and Ogasawara signed on the final day of that window. A former standout from the 2015 Summer Koshien, Ogasawara was a first-round pick of Chunichi and debuted at 18 years old.
Ogasawara is a control over stuff pitcher with an 89-91 mph fastball. Only his changeup grades as a major league average pitch at present, leading to some questions around how his performance will translate. He lacks feel for spin, relying primarily on his fastball and changeup to induce weak contact. Ogasawara will likely slide into the backend of the Nationals rotation in 2025.
Baseball America subscribers can find a full scouting report here.