Roberto Osuna (27), a pitcher with 155 saves in the major leagues, revealed why he stayed in Japan after transferring to the Softbank Hawks.
On the 30th, Oh Soo-na held a press conference to join Softbank at the Paypay Dome in Fukuoka, Japan. According to Japanese media such as ‘Full Count’, Osuna said, “There was talk of a major league contract, but I decided to sign a contract with Softbank because I like Japan. Everyone in Japan is kind and the environment is good. The food is also really good,” he said, explaining why he stayed in Japan.
Mexican right-handed fastball pitcher Ohsuna made her major league debut with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015 and played an active role with a 2.74 ERA in a total of 314 games in 6 seasons, including 14 wins, 18 losses and 155 saves, until the Houston Astros in 2020. He showed off his pitch by striking out 348 in 315 innings with an average fastball of 96 miles (about 154 km).
He was selected as his first All-Star in 2017 and recorded a personal record of 39 saves, and in April 2018, he also set a record for the youngest career saver to reach 100 (23 years, 62 days). In 2019, when he moved to Houston, he led the American League in this category with 38 saves.
However, in May 2018, he was arrested for assaulting his girlfriend, causing controversy. He was traded to Houston after being suspended for 75 games for violating domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse prevention regulations, one of the major league labor-management agreements. He had a resurgence in Houston in 2019, but ended 2020 after throwing just four games due to an elbow injury. 메이저사이트
After that, he disappeared from the major leagues. After going through the Mexican League in 2021, he moved to Japan by signing a contract with Chiba Lotte Marines in June of last year. He showed power with 29 games (29⅔ innings) 4 wins, 1 loss, 10 saves, 9 holds, an average ERA of 0.91 and 32 strikeouts, but there was no news of his return to the major leagues. There was also a view that he was because of a violent criminal record, but it was not. He also had offers from the major leagues, but he chose to stay in Japan.
Instead, he moved the team from Chiba Lotte to Softbank and received an estimated annual salary of 650 million yen (approximately 6.1 billion won). I don’t know what kind of proposal there was from the major leagues, but Softbank Daewoo, which boasts a strong financial power in Japan, is no less successful. Softbank plans to use Livan Moinero, who posted 24 saves last year, as the setup man for the 8th inning, and let Osuna finish the 9th.
Osuna said, “I had a chance to come to Softbank before coming to Chiba Lotte. At that time, he couldn’t come because he was in Mexico, but he wanted to play for Softbank,” he said. It’s a great motivator. He knows the team hasn’t won a championship in the last two years. I really want to contribute to the championship,” he said.