Naoyuki

Uwasawa

Uwasawa returns to Japan after an unsuccessful venture last year with the Red Sox that saw him designated for assignment in the middle of the season, and he went unclaimed. The 30-year-old has been effective at the NBP level, and that’s likely where he’ll finish his career.

Uwasawa passed through waivers unclaimed after being designated for assignment last week by the Red Sox. The 30-year-old righty made a pair of relief outings for Boston back in late April and will presumably stick around as emergency pitching depth the rest of the year.

Uwasawa, 30, was ineffective in his time with Triple-A Worcester with a 6.64 ERA and 36/24 K/BB over 42 2/3 innings. If he goes unclaimed, he’ll have the option to report back to Worcester, or he can elect free agency. Either way, he’s unlikely to be heading to the majors soon.

The Red Sox were facing a roster crunch with Nick Pivetta returning to start on Wednesday and unfortunately the 30-year-old right-hander was the odd-man out this time around. Uwasawa did a nice job in his limited action with the Red Sox, posting a 2.25 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and a 3/2 K/BB ratio across his four frames. It shouldn’t take him long to earn another opportunity in the Red Sox’ bullpen.

Uwasawa has made three starts for Worcester with a 4.80 ERA over 15 innings, but it appears the 30-year-old will be working out of the bullpen after being recalled from Triple-A. The 30-year-old won’t be a viable fantasy option as a multi-inning reliever.

Uwasawa will likely be a part of the Red Sox bullpen at some point, but for now, he will begin his season at the minor league level. The 30-year-old spent almost a decade playing in Japan and now prepares for his first professional season with Boston.

Uwasawa figures to pitch in middle relief for the Red Sox after failing to land a spot on Tampa Bay’s season-opening roster. The 30-year-old righty arrived stateside earlier this offseason after nearly a decade pitching professionally overseas in Japan. He’s a long shot to provide any sort of impact for fantasy managers.

No real surprises here among the latest batch of cuts from Rays camp, but Uwasawa stands out as one of the more notable ones since he signed a minor league pact with the Rays during the offseason to attempt to make the jump to the majors from Japan.

It sounded like Uwasawa would get a major league deal after making his way from Japan, but his market turned out to be slight and he wound up taking a minor league pact from the Rays. He entered camp as a long shot to make the team, and allowing eight hits today won’t help.

It’s a fascinating landing spot for Uwasawa, who comes over from Japan after a nearly a decade pitching professionally. The 29-year-old righty doesn’t throw particularly hard, averaging in the low-90’s with his fastball, and will likely wind up pitching in middle relief. However, he represents an interesting lottery ticket for the Rays, who have had success with relatively unknown relief projects in the past. He’ll presumably get a shot in spring training to win a spot on Tampa Bay’s season-opening roster.