These are the Japanese players who appeared in MLB teams in MLB RIVALS. This lists the previous and current players added on Major League Baseball teams and Japanese in the game.
Contents
Teams with Implemented Japanese Players
| AL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
  Yankees |  Red Sox |  Blue Jays |  Orioles |
 Twins |  Angels |  Tigers |  Rangers |
 Mariners | |||
| NL | |||
 Phillies |  Mets |  Nationals |  Cardinals |
 Cubs |  Dodgers |  Padres | - |
New York Yankees
Hideki Matsui, Hideki Irabu, Ichiro Suzuki, Masahiro Tanaka, and Hiroki Kuroda have played for the New York Yankees.
Japanese Player Implementation Status
| Player Name | In-Game Seasons |
|---|---|
 Hideki Matsui | 2003~2007 |
Boston Red Sox
Koji Uehara, Hirokazu Sawamura, and Junichi Tazawa have played for the Boston Red Sox. Masataka Yoshida, who joined in 2023, is the first Japanese position player to play for the Red Sox and is also implemented in the game.
Japanese Player Implementation Status
| Player Name | In-Game Seasons |
|---|---|
 Masataka Yoshida | 2023~2025 |
 Naoyuki Uwasawa | 2024 |
 Hideki Okajima ’07 | 2007 |
Toronto Blue Jays
Munenori Kawasaki, Ryota Igarashi, and Tomokazu Ohka have played for the Toronto Blue Jays. Among active players, Yusei Kikuchi, who had a great year in 2023, was with the team.
Japanese Player Implementation Status
| Player Name | In-Game Seasons |
|---|---|
 Yusei Kikuchi | 2019~2024 |
Baltimore Orioles
Shintaro Fujinami and Koji Uehara have played for the Baltimore Orioles. Tomoyuki Sugano will join the team from 2025.
Japanese Player Implementation Status
| Player Name | In-Game Seasons |
|---|---|
 Shintaro Fujinami | 2023 |
| Tomoyuki Sugano | Scheduled for implementation in 2025 |
Minnesota Twins
Kenta Maeda, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, and Micheal Nakamura have played for the Minnesota Twins. Kenta Maeda had a great 2020 season, and his Signature card has been implemented.
Japanese Player Implementation Status
| Player Name | In-Game Seasons |
|---|---|
 Kenta Maeda | 2018~2023 |
Detroit Tigers
Masao Kida and Hideo Nomo have played for the Detroit Tigers.
Japanese Player Implementation Status
| Player Name | In-Game Seasons |
|---|---|
 Kenta Maeda | 2024~25 |
Los Angeles Angels
Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Junichi Tazawa, and Hisanori Takahashi have played for the Los Angeles Angels. Shohei Ohtani's great performance from 2021 to 2023 is still fresh in memory. Yusei Kikuchi will join the team from 2025.
Japanese Player Implementation Status
| Player Name | In-Game Seasons |
|---|---|
 Shohei Ohtani (Pitcher) | 2018~2023 |
 Shohei Ohtani (Batter) | 2018~2023 |
 Yusei Kikuchi ’25 | 2025 |
Texas Rangers
Yu Darvish, Kyuji Fujikawa, and Yoshinori Tateyama have played for the Texas Rangers. Yu Darvish's Signature card has been implemented for a total of five different years.
Japanese Player Implementation Status
| Player Name | In-Game Seasons |
|---|---|
 Yu Darvish | 2012~2023 |
Seattle Mariners
Yusei Kikuchi, Hisashi Iwakuma, and Kenji Johjima have played for the Seattle Mariners. In particular, Ichiro Suzuki's great performance for over 10 years starting in 2001 is probably known even by those not very familiar with baseball.
Japanese Player Implementation Status
| Player Name | In-Game Seasons |
|---|---|
 Hisashi Iwakuma | 2013~2015 |
 Shintaro Fujinami | 2025 |
 Yusei Kikuchi | 2019~2023 |
Philadelphia Phillies
So Taguchi and Tadahito Iguchi have played for the Philadelphia Phillies. Koyo Aoyagi is currently an active player on the team.
Japanese Player Implementation Status
| Player Name | In-Game Seasons |
|---|---|
| Koyo Aoyagi | Scheduled for implementation in 2025 |
New York Mets
Ryota Igarashi and Tsuyoshi Shinjo have played for the New York Mets. Among all MLB teams, they have had a particularly large number of Japanese players in the past. Also, Kodai Senga, who is currently active, is featured on the MLB RIVALS app icon.
Japanese Player Implementation Status
| Player Name | In-Game Seasons |
|---|---|
 Kodai Senga | 2023~2025 |
 Shintaro Fujinami | 2024 |
Washington Nationals
Hideki Irabu, Masato Yoshii, and Tomokazu Ohka have previously played for the Washington Nationals. Shinnosuke Ogasawara has joined the team from 2025.
Japanese Player Implementation Status
| Player Name | In-Game Seasons |
|---|---|
| Shinnosuke Ogasawara | Scheduled for implementation in 2025 |
St. Louis Cardinals
Lars Nootbaar is an active player for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Japanese Player Implementation Status
| Player Name | In-Game Seasons |
|---|---|
 L. Nootbaar | 2021~2025 |
Chicago Cubs
Yu Darvish, Kyuji Fujikawa, and Kosuke Fukudome have played for the Chicago Cubs. Currently, Shota Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki, who is also implemented in the game, are active players.
Japanese Player Implementation Status
| Player Name | In-Game Seasons |
|---|---|
 Yu Darvish ’20 | 2019~2020 |
 Seiya Suzuki | 2022~2025 |
 Shota Imanaga | 2024~2025 |
Los Angeles Dodgers
Kenta Maeda, Yu Darvish, Hideo Nomo, Kazuhisa Ishii, and Hiroki Kuroda have played for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Currently, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto have been with the team since the 2023 offseason. Both announcements generated significant buzz at the time.
Japanese Player Implementation Status
| Player Name | In-Game Seasons |
|---|---|
 Shohei Ohtani | 2024~2025 |
 Yoshinobu Yamamoto | 2024~2025 |
 Kenta Maeda | 2017~2019 |
 Yu Darvish | 2017 |
| Roki Sasaki | Scheduled for implementation in 2025 |
San Diego Padres
Kazuhisa Makita and Tadahito Iguchi have played for the San Diego Padres. Currently, Yu Darvish has been with the team since 2021, and Yuki Matsui joined in the 2023 offseason.
Japanese Player Implementation Status
| Player Name | In-Game Seasons |
|---|---|
 Yu Darvish | 2021~2025 |
 Yuki Matsui | 2024~25 |
Teams That Previously Had Japanese Players
New York Yankees
Hideki Matsui, who was the World Series MVP in 2009, Masahiro Tanaka, and Hideki Irabu have played for the New York Yankees. Also, Ichiro Suzuki played for the team from July 2012 to 2014.
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays were the team Hideki Matsui played for in his final active year. Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, Akinori Iwamura, and Hideo Nomo have also played for them.
Detroit Tigers
Hideo Nomo, Masao Kida, and Kenta Maeda have played for the Detroit Tigers. Hideo Nomo was the opening day starter in 2000.
Chicago White Sox
Kosuke Fukudome, Tadahito Iguchi, and Shingo Takatsu have played for the Chicago White Sox. Tadahito Iguchi contributed to their league championship and World Series victory in 2005.
Kansas City Royals
Norichika Aoki, Yasuhiko Yabuta, and Hideo Nomo have played for the Kansas City Royals.
Houston Astros
Norichika Aoki, Kazuo Matsui, and Yusei Kikuchi have played for the Houston Astros.
Oakland Athletics
Shintaro Fujinami, Hideki Okajima, and Akinori Iwamura have played for the Oakland Athletics.
Philadelphia Phillies
So Taguchi and Tadahito Iguchi have played for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Miami Marlins
Ichiro Suzuki and Junichi Tazawa have played for the Miami Marlins.
Atlanta Braves
Takashi Saito and Kenshin Kawakami have played for the Atlanta Braves.
Washington Nationals
Tomokazu Ohka played for the Washington Nationals.
St. Louis Cardinals
So Taguchi played for the Washington Nationals.
Milwaukee Brewers
Norichika Aoki, Takashi Saito, and Tomokazu Ohka have played for the Milwaukee Brewers. Takashi Saito contributed to their division championship in 2011.
Cincinnati Reds
Shogo Akiyama played for the Cincinnati Reds.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Yoshitomo Tsutsugo, Hisanori Takahashi, and Masumi Kuwata have played for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Colorado Rockies
Kazuo Matsui, Mac Suzuki, and Masato Yoshii have played for the Colorado Rockies. Kazuo Matsui contributed to the team's first-ever league championship in 2007.
San Francisco Giants
Norichika Aoki, Tsuyoshi Shinjo, and Masanori Murakami have played for the San Francisco Giants. Masanori Murakami is the first Japanese major leaguer.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Yoshihisa Hirano and Takashi Saito have played for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Teams That Have Never Had Japanese Players
Cleveland Guardians
No Japanese players have ever been on the team.
