Immediately after missing out on the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes in the offseason, the Philadelphia Phillies dipped their toes into the international market with the signing of Japanese pitcher Koyo Aoyagi. Six months later, the team put an end to the experiment, as they parted ways with the 31-year-old, according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki, after a rough stint in the minor leagues.
After officially being posted last December, Aoyagi joined the Phillies one month later in January following a successful nine-year stint with the Hanshin Tigers of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league.