Left hand Foster Griffin he was looking to return to the big leagues after a three-year stint in Japan. He received at least one multi-year donation, from MLB Network’s Jon Morosi.
The 30-year-old Griffin was a first-round pick, 28th overall, by the Royals back in 2014. He pitched in parts of two major league seasons between Kansas City and Toronto but only pitched a total of eight innings. Griffin excelled in the minors in 2021-22 and did so overseas, signing a one-year deal with the Yomiuri Giants.
Griffin re-signed with the Giants after a great first season and ended up spending three years in rotation. He pitched to a sharp 2.57 ERA in 315 2/3 frames and struck out 25.1% of his opponents against a systematic 5.5% walk rate. Griffin still doesn’t throw particularly hard, sitting in the low 90s with his fastball, but he works with a deep arsenal. He primarily relies on the four-seamer, slider, cutter and shifter (in that order) but also mixes in a splitter, curve and two-seamer at times.
Griffin was on track for another strong set of results in 2025 when he suffered a leg injury over the summer. He only went deep in 14 games but compiled a nice 1.62 ERA, 25.1% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate in 78 innings. (Griffin also threw a league-low 11 innings, bringing his season total to 89.) He’s healthy now and going through the normal progression of the offseason.
Sources told MLBTR that Griffin has spoken to eight teams with varying levels of interest. His priority in free agency will be with a club that has clear rotation slots and ways to hold down the starting job next season. It’s an understandable move for a pitcher entering his age-30 season. A one- or two-year deal would put him back on the market before his age-31 or age-32 season. That’s still young enough to command a significant free agent contract if he can spend the next year or two establishing himself as a major league starter by compounding the changes he’s made overseas.
Teams in need of high-profile upgrades won’t look at Griffin’s NPB career and assume he can pass. But the 6’3″, 225-pound lefty should be a relatively low-cost option for a club looking to plug steady innings with upside in the back of its rotation.
Griffin lacks premium velocity and whiff rate Cody Poncewho signed a $30MM deal with the Blue Jays in free agency earlier this winter, but we’ve still seen strong paydays for returning pitchers in North America in recent years. Drew Anderson ($7MM) and Ryan Weiss ($2.6MM) both signed one-year, major league contracts coming back from Asia this winter. Left hand Anthony Kay signed a two-year, $12MM deal with the White Sox last week. Bringing back starters for Nippon Professional Baseball and the Korea Baseball Organization is an increasingly popular way for teams to seek budget innings after a trade, which should bode well for Griffin after three great seasons.
