The San Diego Padres have continued their steady presence on the international market by adding Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Nogami on a minor-league contract, via MLB.com.
The 20-year-old, born January 6, 2006, in Hita, Japan, represents another low-profile acquisition as the organization works through the final months of the current international signing period.
Details on Nogami remain limited. Available scouting notes that appear to match him describe a pitcher who stood about 6-foot-2 and 175 pounds in high school and reached the low-90s with his fastball.
MiLB listings list him at 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds. He is said to throw a four-seamer along with a cutter, slider, curveball, and splitter.
With limited public information and no professional track record yet, he profiles as a developmental arm who will likely require time and refinement before he can contribute at higher levels.
The Padres still have room remaining in their 2026 international bonus pool, which allows them to continue adding players like Nogami before the current period closes on December 15.
The next signing window opens on January 15, though ongoing collective-bargaining negotiations leave open the possibility that an international draft could alter the rules going forward.
Organizations across the league have monitored those talks closely, as any structural change would affect how teams allocate resources on amateur talent from outside the United States and Canada.
For San Diego, the move fits a broader pattern of casting a wide net for pitching depth. The club has previously brought in arms from Japan and other international markets, some of whom have progressed through the system while others remain projects.
Nogami joins that group as an unproven right-hander whose immediate value lies in the organizational depth he provides rather than any near-term major-league expectation.
How quickly he adapts to professional routines, builds strength, and sharpens his secondary pitches will determine whether he can climb the minor-league ladder.
In the short term, the signing adds another body to the Padres’ lower-level pitching inventory at a time when the front office continues to balance major-league needs with long-term pipeline development.
With the signing period still open for another two months, further additions remain possible before attention fully turns to the 2027 international class and whatever framework the next labor agreement establishes.
For now, Nogami’s path begins in the minors, where the organization will evaluate whether the raw ingredients noted from his high-school days can develop into something more substantial.
