CPBL Foreign Players Updates Volume #445
Rakuten Monkeys News: Kyoyama Masaya
On August 4, the Rakuten Monkeys announced the signing of 28-year-old Japanese right-hander Kyoyama Masaya (京山將彌) to a development contract. According to the team, Kyoyama Masaya will be used as a starting pitcher for the Monkeys’ farm team.
“We are hoping Kyoyama Masaya can add to our overall pitching depth. And with consistent playing time in the CPBL minor league should also help him adjust to pitching in Taiwan,” said the Monkeys in the signing press release.
Kyoyama Masaya began his professional career in Japan’s NPB with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. From 2016 to 2025, he compiled a career NPB record of a 4.60 ERA and 1.69 WHIP over 277.2 innings in the 1st team. In 2026, Kyoyama Masaya joined the Lotte Giants of the KBO as an Asian quota player. However, he struggled with his command and eventually got released by the Giants midseason after posting a 7.59 ERA and 2.16 WHIP over 10.2 innings.
While Kyoyama Masaya will be used solely as a minor league pitcher in the CPBL for now, it will be interesting to see whether the extra time to adjust to a new environment could give him an opportunity to earn a 1st-team contract next season.
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 2026 CPBL season.