Right-hander Bo Takahashi (27), who briefly played for the KIA Tigers in the KBO League as a foreign player, has renewed his contract with the Seibu Lions of the Japanese pro baseball for three consecutive years. He left Korea due to failure in renewing his contract, but ended up in Japan for a fourth season. 

Seibu said on the 12th that it signed Takahashi to sign a contract for next season. According to "Sankei Sports," Takahashi said, "I always want to be ready to throw where the team needs to, and it was good to be able to throw all year without injury this year." 메이저사이트

Takahashi pitched 72 ⅔ innings in 33 games (nine starts) this season, recording two wins, nine losses and seven holds with an ERA of 3.22 strikeouts. In his third season in Japan, he threw nine games in his first attempt to switch to a starting pitcher, but returned to an intermediate position from mid-July. Since August, he has shown good pitching in 17 games (17 ⅓ innings) with an ERA of 2.08. 

Takahashi, a third-generation Japanese right-hander with Brazilian nationality, pitched seven seasons in the minor leagues under the Arizona Diamondbacks and Cincinnati Reds in the U.S. from 2014 to 2021, but did not receive a major league call-up. 

Eventually, in August 2021, he took on a new challenge in Korea. Kia, which released Aaron Brooks, a foreign pitcher suspected of possessing cannabis at the time, hired Takahashi as a substitute. The deal was worth a total of $160,000 with an annual salary of 60,000 dollars and a transfer fee of 100,000 dollars. It was late in the season at the end of August, but it was aimed at seeing Takahashi's potential as a young 24-year-old at the time. 

Takahashi, who started all seven games at Kia, posted one win, three losses and an earned run average of 4.18. He displayed robust pitching capabilities by banking on his fastballs with a maximum speed of 152 km/h, with 46 strikeouts during 36 ⅔ innings. He garnered one win in his first two games and allowed no run in 10 innings, but was then attacked by his monotonous pitching of fastball-slider. He had three losses and an earned run average of 6.75 in his last five games, and failed to renew his contract with Kia. 

The following year, however, he got a chance in Japan. At the time, Seibu called Takahashi "a 24-year-old pitcher with unlimited potential," and hired Takahashi at a discounted price of 20 million yen. In 2022, he recorded an ERA of 2.56 strikeouts and 26 strikeouts with two holds without a loss in 27 games (31 ⅔ innings), demonstrating his potential as a pursuit team. 

Takahashi, who re-signed with Seibu for an estimated annual salary of 35 million yen, lost one game (36 innings) and had 27 ERAs. Although it was not a noticeable performance, he pitched well in the second division with an ERA of one point (1.39), and re-signed again with the same salary in recognition of his potential at a young age. Japan is limited to four foreign players in the first team, but the number of players in the team is unlimited, so it was possible. 

Eventually, in his third season, Takahashi became a solid first-team player and achieved significant results. Although he was a little disappointed as a starter with nine games (47 ⅔ innings), one win and six losses and an earned run average of 3.78, he proved his competitive edge with 24 games (25 innings) with one win, three losses and seven holds and an earned run average of 2.16. With new curves installed in fastballs and sliders, Takahashi was guaranteed until the fourth season in Japan. Although it has not been confirmed how much his salary will increase next year, he has played for a long time in Japan for four years, laying the groundwork for his turnaround in his life.