How One Pitcher Can Change a Philadelphia Team in Moments
Being a part of the Philadelphia Phillies team is no joke, especially with their eyes on a World Series Championship in 2025. They have already lost their first two games of Spring Training in a 7-6 loss to the Detroit Tigers and a 7-3 defeat to the Baltimore Orioles. In both matchups, Jose Cuas and Tyler Phillips gave up three runs a piece, and the offense had a combined 15 hits. The issues need to be fixed before the season opens in the next several weeks. Many players are fighting to make the 26-man roster for the Opening Day of the season.
One player, in particular, has been quiet but has been trying to find his way onto that roster, Koyo Aoyagi. At the moment he is in the Phillies camp and came in as a non-roster invitee. He is starting the season out with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley. However, if Aoyagi keeps moving the way he has been, there should be no doubt that he will be playing on the Phillies roster in no time. The way he throws the ball is one of the things that make him special, as he doesn't throw overhand. The right-hander throws side-armed. The 31-year-old has always thrown side-arm since he was a kid.
Before coming to Philadelphia, he pitched for nine seasons in the Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball League. He is a three-time all-star, and most recently in 2022, he played with the Hanshin Tigers before coming to the American Leagues. He also helped Hanshin with the World Series championship in 2023, he pitched for several innings there. He also helped Japan win the gold medal in the 2020 Olympics.
The Phillies like that he is a side-armed pitcher. It gives them something new and different to work with. There are not a whole lot of teams who have players like this. It’s not a popular way to throw but it is definitely something that they can use to move ahead during this season. If Aoyagi pitches for the Phillies team this season, he will be just the third player in Philadelphia’s franchise history to play at Citizens Bank Park. The first two are Tadahito Iguchi who played for the team from 2007-08 and So Taguchi who played for the team in 2008. The Phillies are looking forward to watching Aoyagi and seeing what he can do.
They want to keep expanding their team into the Japanese culture and open doors to introduce a new world for this team along with others. Aoyagi would be a great start if they were to get him on the mound during opening day and have him join their current pitchers Tyler Phillips and Tristian Garnett among a few others. It's something different that the Phillies are really going to look into. Having him on Opening Day would really show what this year's Philadelphia team is going to be worth.
