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By The Washington Nationals recalled left-handed pitcher Shinnosuke Ogasawara from Triple-A Rochester on Sunday and optioned right-handed pitcher Ryan Loutos to Triple-A Rochester on Saturday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.
Ogasawara, 27, who will start and make his Major League debut today, is in his first season in American professional baseball after he became the first player signed by the Nationals directly from Japan on January 24, 2025. He went 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA and 24 strikeouts and six walks in 24.0 innings in six Minor League games between Triple-A Rochester, High-A Wilmington, and the FCL Nationals. In his final rehab outing on June 25, Ogasawara struck out five in 4.0 innings of two-run ball for the Wilmington Blue Rocks against the Hudson Valley Renegades (NYY).
Ogasawara pitched 6.0 innings of one run ball with six strikeouts against Lehigh Valley (PHI) in his Triple-A debut on April 1. He allowed just one run on two hits in 5.0 innings with four strikeouts 12 days later against Scranton-Wilkes Barre (NYY).
Ogasawara turned professional at 18 years old and pitched to a 54-72 record with a 3.67 ERA in nine seasons for the Chunichi Dragons of the Nippon Professional Baseball League. He was named an NPB All-Star in 2023 after he went 7-12 with a 3.59 ERA and 134 strikeouts in 160.2 innings. In his final season in the NPB in 2024, Ogasawara issued just 22 walks in 144.1 innings while pitching to a 3.12 ERA.
Loutos, 26, was 1-0 with a 9.82 ERA in 10 games for the Nationals this season.
