Bears bring back Japanese pitcher Takuto Takada for second KBO season

The Doosan Bears announced on Tuesday that they will bring back their Japanese pitcher Takuto Takada for his second season in Korea.

The KBO club said that the 24-year-old left-hander agreed to a new one-year deal worth $220,000 as the Bears’ Asian quota player.

Takada went 3-1 with eight holds in 39 appearances, including three starts, after joining the Bears in late May. He was brought in as a replacement for another Japanese pitcher, Ichiro Tamura.

Takada had a 0-1 record and an 8.76 ERA in his three starts but enjoyed more success as a reliever. In the second half of the season, Takada led all relief pitchers with 40 innings pitched; his 1.58 ERA also put him second among relievers with at least 30 innings thrown.

“I wanted to be back with the Doosan Bears for 2027, and I am happy to have achieved that dream,” Takada said. “Although I struggled early on, the team still had faith in me, and that helped me finish the season on a stronger note. I don’t know what kind of role I’ll take on next year, but I think that I should be prepared to become a starting pitcher.”

The Bears said that Takada went through only a short adjustment period in the KBO before finding his footing and that they expected an even better performance from the hurler next year.

Yonhap