Former Texas Rangers right-hander Kohei Arihara is reportedly eyeing a return to Major League Baseball, according to a new report from Yahoo Japan, relayed in English via Yakyu Cosmopolitan. Arihara, who will officially reach free agency on December 2, has spent the past three seasons rebuilding his career with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). After rediscovering both his health and consistency in Japan, the 33-year-old now appears ready to take another shot at MLB competition.
Arihara’s path has been anything but straightforward. His professional journey began with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, where he spent six years developing into a reliable and steady member of their rotation. His performance in that span was strong enough to attract meaningful attention from MLB clubs. In December 2020, the Texas Rangers signed Arihara to a two-year, $6.2 million contract, banking on his command, pitch mix, and track record in Japan translating to success in the United States.
However, Arihara’s transition to MLB never fully materialized the way the Rangers envisioned. His first season in Texas was derailed almost immediately by an unexpected and serious medical issue. Early in the year, team doctors discovered an aneurysm in Arihara’s right shoulder area—an injury so rare among pitchers that it required prompt surgical intervention. The procedure forced him to miss several months and halted any attempt to build in-season momentum.
When he finally returned in September of that year, Arihara struggled to regain his form. Over 12 innings late in the 2021 season, he allowed nine earned runs and appeared to still be battling the aftereffects of the surgery. His command wavered, his velocity dipped, and he struggled to consistently execute his signature sinker-changeup combination.
The 2022 season offered little reprieve. Arihara made five appearances for the Rangers but posted a 9.45 ERA before the organization designated him for assignment in September. He later elected free agency, ending his brief and injury-disrupted MLB tenure.
Despite the tough stretch in Texas, Arihara returned to Japan with an opportunity for a fresh start—and he made the most of it. Signing with the SoftBank Hawks, he quickly re-established himself as one of the league’s more dependable starters. His first full year back in NPB was a resounding success: a 2.31 ERA across 17 starts in 2023, reasserting that his struggles in Texas were tied more to health than talent.
Arihara’s resurgence didn’t stop there. In 2024, he delivered an even more impressive workload and nearly identical effectiveness, posting a 2.36 ERA over 26 starts while racking up 14 wins for the Hawks. His durability became one of his defining strengths, as he surpassed 175 innings for the first time in several years—an encouraging sign for a pitcher whose MLB stint had once been dramatically interrupted by a rare medical setback.
This past season, Arihara once again delivered 14 wins while maintaining strong peripherals, though his ERA rose slightly above 3.00. Still, the overall body of work—three seasons of consistent production, increased workload, and regained velocity—suggests that he has successfully worked his way back into form. At age 33, Arihara may not be entering MLB as a frontline pitcher, but he has shown he can be a durable, mid-rotation-caliber arm when healthy.
His improved stability is one of the key reasons MLB teams may now view him as a more dependable option. Arihara’s pitch mix, which includes variations of a sinker, four-seamer, splitter, changeup, and slider, has long been noted for its finesse and deception rather than overpowering velocity. Many scouts believed his arsenal could play well in the United States if paired with improved command and consistency—two elements he has refined significantly in NPB since his return.
Given the lack of pitching depth available in the current MLB free-agent market—particularly beyond the top-tier names—Arihara’s timing may be ideal. Teams seeking inexpensive rotation depth or looking to buy low on an experienced international pitcher may view him as an appealing option. His ability to pitch deep into games the past two years, logging 175-plus innings in back-to-back seasons, is an attractive trait for clubs that rely heavily on their bullpen.
Of course, MLB isn’t Arihara’s only avenue for 2026 and beyond. Yahoo Japan also notes that the Yomiuri Giants—one of the most storied and resource-rich franchises in Japan—have shown interest in signing the veteran right-hander. The Giants are known for aggressively pursuing established talent, particularly pitchers with proven track records in NPB. If an MLB offer isn’t compelling enough financially or role-wise, Arihara may still have strong domestic options.
Still, the pitcher’s reported desire to return to MLB signals unfinished business. His first stint in the United States was defined more by misfortune than opportunity. The aneurysm in his shoulder not only halted his early progress but created legitimate uncertainty about his long-term durability. Now, after three seasons of sustained health and high-level performance, Arihara may believe he can finally compete on equal footing.
For MLB teams, the question becomes how his recent success in Japan will translate this time around. Many pitchers have struggled in their adjustment to MLB hitters, but others—particularly finesse and control-based arms—have enjoyed late-career resurgences after returning from NPB or KBO. Arihara could fall into the latter category if he lands in an environment that maximizes his strengths.
As free agency approaches, interest in Arihara is likely to grow, especially as teams search for cost-effective pitching options. Whether he ends up back in the United States or signs with a competitive NPB franchise like the Giants, one thing is clear: Kohei Arihara has revived his career and earned another opportunity to showcase his ability at a high level.
After years of setbacks, surgery, and rebuilding, the right-hander has placed himself back on the radar of teams on both sides of the Pacific. Now it’s a matter of which organization believes most in the pitcher he has worked to become—and whether Arihara decides that his second shot at MLB is worth pursuing.
