The Tampa Bay Rays have had a slow start to the offseason, with their most notable move seeing them trade away their presumed ace in Tyler Glasnow to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Rays always find a way to fill out their roster, though, and they may have made one of their typical under-the-radar moves that could yield quite a return by signing Naoyuki Uwasawa to a minor league deal.
Uwasawa has spent his entire career so far in the Nippon Professional Baseball league, but he decided to make the jump to the MLB this offseason. Uwasawa has been an NPB All-Star three times throughout his career, and he will now try to carve out a spot in the Rays starting rotation after latching on with them in free agency.
Via Rays Communications:
“The Tampa Bay Rays have signed RHP Naoyuki Uwasawa to a minor league contract with an invite to Major League camp.”
The Rays have nothing to lose by signing Naoyuki Uwasawa
Uwasawa certainly wasn’t the most sought-after to come over from Japan this offseason, but he could have a big impact for the Rays. Uwasawa had a solid 2023 campaign (9-9, 2.96 ERA, 124 K, 1.14 WHIP), and while his pitching arsenal isn’t projected to be a great fit in the majors, if he can adapt, the Rays will have a steal on their hands here.
By landing Uwasawa on a minor league deal, there isn’t much risk attached to this deal for the Rays if he doesn’t pan out in the majors. On the other hand, he has time to adjust to the MLB in the minors, making any sort of contribution he could make in the majors an added bonus for Tampa. There’s not much to dislike about this deal, and this could end up being a sneaky good signing for the Rays.
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