CPBL Foreign Players Updates Volume #381
Guardians Sign 2 Japanese as Development Players
On March 13 and 21, the Fubon Guardians announced the signing of two 26-year-old Japanese right-handers, Negishi Ryo (根岸涼) and Ninomiya Isaki (二宮衣沙貴), on development contracts.
According to the team, both players attended and passed their tryouts. They will begin the 2025 CPBL season in the minor league as development players.
Ninomiya Isaki initially aimed to sign with the TSG Hawks and attended their tryout, but he was unable to secure a contract. However, the Guardians recognised his strong motivation to play in the CPBL and decided to offer him a development contract.
With the signing of these two development players, the Fubon Guardians now have Roenis Elías, Shawn Morimando, Enderson Franco, Rio Gomez, Negishi Ryo (development contract) and Ninomiya Isaki (development contract) as their foreign players.
Note: Under CPBL regulations, players on development contracts can only compete in the minor league. Essentially, development players are relatively similar to trainees and receive significantly lower pay than the industry standard.
Fubon Guardians News: Negishi Ryo
After graduating from university, Negishi Ryo did not enter the NPB system. Instead, he spent 2021 and 2022 in Japan’s Semi-Pro Industrial League (JABA), playing for JEF West Japan.
In 2023, Negishi Ryo moved to Japan’s independent league and pitched for the Ibaraki Astro Planets in the Baseball Challenge League. He finished the season with a 2.18 ERA over 86.2 innings and won the ERA title that year. However, he struggled to maintain the same level of performance in 2024 and posted a 5.47 ERA over 51 innings.
Since 2023, during the offseason, Negishi Ryo has played winter ball in Colombia and Venezuela. He also took part in the 2024 Caribbean Series as a member of the Japan Breeze team. His performances in Colombia were solid, but he struggled in Venezuela and the Caribbean Series, pitching only three innings and allowing six earned runs.
Fubon Guardians News: Ninomiya Isaki
After finishing university, Ninomiya Isaki joined Japan’s independent league and signed with the short-lived Ryukyu Blue Oceans.
Following his brief stint with the Blue Oceans, Ninomiya Isaki went to another Japanese independent league, the Baseball Challenge League, pitching for the Ibaraki Astro Planets between 2021 and 2023. His most notable season came in 2022 when he posted a 2.59 ERA over 97.1 innings. Unfortunately, he was unable to maintain that success in 2023 and recorded a 4.65 ERA across 112.1 innings.
In 2024, Ninomiya Isaki signed with the NPB minor league expansion team, Kufu Hayate Ventures Shizuoka, where he became the team’s ace. Over 23 games, he registered a respectable 3.18 ERA and 1.29 WHIP across 110.1 innings.
During the 2024 offseason, Ninomiya Isaki played in the Venezuelan Winter League, where he struggled with a 15.00 ERA over three innings. He also participated in the 2024 Caribbean Series as a member of the Japan Breeze team, pitching 4.2 innings with a 3.86 ERA.
Further Readings
Foreign players come and go. Therefore, we have compiled a foreign player tracker, and I’ll be updating that list regularly to keep pace with the ever-changing roster shuffle throughout the 2025 CPBL season.