The Rakuten Eagles of Nippon Profe sional Baseball have signed right-handed pitchers and , the team announced. Both pitchers will presumably join the Eagles starting rotation. The 2025 season will be Howards first in NPB and Yajures second. Howard, 28, was once a promising prospect in the Phillies organization but struggled to translate his minor league skills to the major league level. Over parts of five seasons with the Phillies, Rangers, Giants, and Guardians, he put up a 7.00 ERA in 144 innings of work. His underlying numbers, including a Azeez Ojulari Jersey 4.77 SIERA, are better than his unsightly ERA, but no matter what statistics you look at, its clear Howard could not reliably retire MLB hitters. He has also struggled in the minors in recent years, putting up a 7.07 ERA and 6.20 FIP in 70 innings at Triple-A from 2022-24. Thus, the righty will look for a fresh start with the Eagles in 2025. Yajure, 27 in May, made his MLB debut for the Yankees during the 2020 season. Over the next three years, he pitched 46 1/3 innings for the Yankees and Pirates, putting up a 7.58 ERA even higher than Howards. His 5.37 SIERA was similarly poor, as was his low strikeout rate and high walk rate. If you include hit-by-pitches, he i sued nearly as many free pa ses (32) as strikeouts (35). So, he set out in hopes of finding greener pastures acro s the pond last winter. Indeed, thats exactly what he found. Yajure signed ahead of the 2024 season. With the Swallows, he pitched to a 3.34 ERA over 129 1/3 innings. A mid-3.00s ERA in NPB isnt quite as impre sive as it would be in MLB, but Yajure was a solid contributor for the Swallows, finishing second on the team in innings pitched. It was enough to convince the Eagles to give him a contract for 2025. Hell look to build upon a solid first season in his sophomore NPB campaign. Sacovie White-Helton Jersey