When teams invite players to spring training with a minor league contract, it doesn’t really garner that much attention. It happens every year as the team tries to gather some depth that they can send to their farm system for when the inevitable injury bug starts biting the 40-man roster. The Phillies, though, have added a pitcher from Japan that has raised an eyebrow or two since it’ll mark their first toe dips into the Pacific rim waters and their free agent market.
But who is Koyo Aoyagi?
Let’s start with this: Aoyagi was actually posted in mid December and didn’t attract enough people his way that he would earn a major league contract.