Naoyuki Uwasawa

Naoyuki Uwasawa (上沢 直之)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 194 lbs.
• High School Senshu University Matsudo High School
• Debut May 2, 2024

• Born February 6, 1994 in Matsudo, Chiba Japan

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Biographical Information

Naoyuki Uwasawa played nine seasons in Nippon Pro Baseball before making his MLB debut at age 30.

Uwasawa was drafted by the Nippon Ham Fighters in the sixth round of the 2011 NPB draft, and he spent his first three seasons in the NPB Farm Leagues He debuted on April 2, 2014, and became the first pitcher to collect a win in all of his first three career starts since Yukio Ozaki did it in 1962. Uwasawa ended up 8-8 with a 3.19 ERA, and secured a spot in the rotation. He got 5 votes for the 2014 Pacific League Rookie of the Year Award, finishing fourth behind Ayumu Ishikawa's 155 votes, Tomomi Takahashi's 46 and Yuito Mori's 31. However, He slumped to 5-6 with a 4.18 ERA in 2015, and missed the entire 2016 season due to right elbow injury.

The Chiba native came back in 2017, and he went 4-9 with a 3.44 ERA. He broke out after adding a knuckle curve into his repertoire in 2018, and he was selected into the All-Star Game for the first time in his career; he pitched two shutout inning, with a strikeout of Kazuma Okamoto, in Game 2. Uwasawa ended up 11-6 with a 3.16 ERA, and ranked 3rd in ERA (.44 behind Takayuki Kishi), 2nd in complete games (1 behind Shinsaburo Tawata), 1st in shutouts, 5th in strikeouts (36 behind Takahiro Norimoto) and 8th in wins (5 behind Tawata). He allowed one run in five for the NPB All-Stars to beat Erasmo Ramirez and the MLB All-Stars in Game of the 2018 Nichi-Bei Series; NPB would win the Series. Unfortunately, he was hit by a comebacker from Neftali Soto on June in 2019, and missed the rest of the season. He recorded a 3.15 ERA in 11 starts before injured.

Uwasawa extended his solid performance in 2020, and he collected 8 wins with a 2.86 ERA. He struggled in the 2021 NPB All-Star Game, as he relieved Tatsuya Imai in the 5th inning of Game 1. Ryosuke Kikuchi singled first, and Ryutaro Umeno's triple drove in a run; Umeno in turn scored on Koji Chikamoto's single. Hayato Sakamoto hit another single, and Uwasawa struck out Teruaki Sato then Sakamoto was thrown out at second during a double steal and Seiya Suzuki was retired to escape the jam. However, the next inning, he allowed another single to Kazuma Okamoto, then Kikuchi's 2-run homer gave the CL the lead. Despite his terrible performance in the All-Star Game, Uwasawa's 2021 season was his career year as he had a 12-6 record with a solid 2.81 ERA. He ranked 3rd in wins (6 behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto), 3rd in ERA (1.42 behind Yamamoto), 6th in strikeouts (71 behind Yamamoto) and 3rd in innings (33 1/3 behind Yamamoto).

After his fine 2021 season, Uwasawa had some trouble in the beginning of the 2022 season as his ERA was 4.91 in April. He fractured his toe in July and missed a month, then bounced back to record a 3.38 ERA with 8 wins this season. He attended 2023 NPB All-Star Game 1 and pitched a shutout inning. Uwasawa ended up 9-9 with a 2.96 ERA in 2023; he led the league in innings pitched, ranked 6th in ERA (1.75 behind Yamamoto), 8th in strikeouts (45 behind Yamamoto) and 2nd in shutouts (1 behind Hiroya Miyagi). Following the season, he asked to be posted in order to play in Major League Baseball. On January 11, 2024, the Tampa Bay Rays signed him to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training, where he would be given an opportunity to make the team's starting rotation. When he failed to do that, he was traded to the Boston Red Sox for cash considerations on March 27th. He began the year with the AAA Worcester Red Sox, for whom he went 2-1, 4.80 in three starts before getting the call to Boston. He made his big league debut on May 2nd, pitching in relief against the San Francisco Giants at Fenway Park and throwing two perfect innings to complete a 3-1 loss.

Uwasawa's repertoire included a fastball (peak 94.4 mph), slider, knuckle curve, cutter, changeup and forkball.

Further Reading

• Adam Berry: "Breaking down Rays' intriguing deal with Japanese righty", mlb.com, January 19, 2024. [1]

Related Sites

• Naoyuki Uwasawa on mlb.com
• BR Register page