Unstoppable in the Major Leagues.
Former Nippon Professional Baseball home run king Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, 32, will stay in the United States next year. He signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants. He will participate in spring training and exhibition games as an invitee next year, hoping to return to the major leagues.
Tsutsugo spent this season in the Texas Rangers’ minor league system, trying unsuccessfully to get promoted to the major leagues.
A center fielder for the Yokohama BayStars, Tsutsugo was promoted to the major leagues in the winter of 2019. He signed a two-year, $12 million contract with the Tampa Bay Reds.
He struggled in his first year.
In 2020, when teams played 60 games due to COVID-19, 안전놀이터 he batted 1-for-9 with eight home runs, 24 RBIs, and a .708 OPS in 51 games. In the opening game against the Toronto Blue Jays, he started at third base and hit a two-run homer off Ryu Hyun-jin in the fifth inning. It was his first major league hit.
In his second year, 2021, he didn’t break out.
In May of that year, he was released after batting 1-for-6 in 26 games. He moved to the Los Angeles Dodgers to start over, but only managed to hit 1.2 in 12 games. Tsutsugo was removed from the 40-man roster in August of that year while on the disabled list.
He didn’t give up. Tsutsugo moved to the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he played another 43 games. He batted 2-for-6 with eight home runs, 25 RBIs, and an OPS of .883. Tsutsugo re-signed in the offseason. He signed a one-year, $4 million deal.
The major league barrier was still high.
In his highly anticipated third year, 2022, he failed to make an impact. 50 games, he batted 1-for-7 with two home runs and 19 RBIs. In August of that year, he had to leave the team again. He was promoted from the minor leagues to the big leagues with the Toronto Blue Jays, but he didn”t make it.
This year was no different.
He participated in Texas spring training as an invitee.
He didn’t stand out and opened the season in the minors. Tsutsugo left the team in June when it became difficult to get promoted to the major leagues. Nippon Professional Baseball offered him a return, but he chose to stay in the United States.
He went down to the independent leagues before signing a minor league contract with San Francisco in August. In 13 games at Double-A, he batted 3-for-1 with four home runs and 10 RBIs. He moved up to Triple-A, where he played in four games.
This time, injuries got in the way. He fractured his left thumb in a game and was out for the season. If he had stayed healthy, he would have been promoted to the major leagues.
In 68 games at Double-A and Triple-A this year, 메이저사이트 he batted .266 with 10 home runs, 44 RBIs, three doubles, and an OPS of .858.
Returning to Japan will allow him to play baseball under better conditions, but he hasn’t given up his dream of playing in the major leagues.
Tsutsugo played for Yokohama in 2016, hitting 44 home runs and 110 RBIs and leading the Central League in home runs and RBIs. He was the league’s RBI leader. He finished his career with 977 hits, 205 home runs, and 613 RBIs in Nippon Professional Baseball before leaving for a bigger stage. Tsutsugo represented Japan in the 2015 Premier 12 and 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC). He was named the MVP of the first round of the WBC.
Will Tsutsugo be back in the major leagues next year?