Right-hander Spencer Howard is signing with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball, according to reports out of Japan (h/t to Yakyu Cosmopolitan). It’ll be the second year in NPB for Howard, who pitched for the Rakuten Eagles this past season. Before heading to Japan, Howard spent parts of five seasons with four MLB teams.
Injuries limited Howard to just nine starts with the Eagles in 2025. He pitched well when available, posting a 2.22 ERA across 48 2/3 innings. Howard is the second foreign signing for the Giants in the past 10 days. The club inked former Red Sox infielder Bobby Dalbec last week.
The 29-year-old Howard was once among the top prospects in Philadelphia’s organization. FanGraphs and MLB.com both gave him the No. 1 spot in 2021. The righty had briefly debuted the year prior, making six uneventful starts in the shortened 2020 season. Howard made 11 appearances for the Phillies in 2021, pitching to a 5.72 ERA with a solid 24.4% strikeout rate but a concerning 13.4% walk rate. Philly shipped him to Texas at the trade deadline for a return headlined by veteran arms Ian Kennedy and Kyle Gibson.
Texas gave Howard his longest look at the big-league level, but injuries limited him to 62 2/3 innings from 2021 to 2023. He wasn’t particularly effective with the club, scuffling to an 8.37 ERA across 21 appearances. Howard’s results at Triple-A Round Rock weren’t much better in that stretch. Texas shipped him to the Yankees in August 2023. He would also spend time with the Giants and Guardians before making the move to NPB. Howard has a 7.00 ERA across 144 MLB innings. His 4.77 SIERA paints a rosier picture, though not enough to suggest a return to the big leagues is in the cards.
Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images
Lots of players going overseas – good luck to all!🫡
Kenta Maeda has already signed with the Golden Eagles I believe. I wouldn’t be shocked if Howard comes back if he can do good next year given he was a good prospect and is still decently young.
He turns 30 this season and his high watermark for innings in a season is 62.
He should commit to being a reliever, go to driveline to take his best pitch and make it elite, and learn how to take care of his arm and his body.
If somehow that all falls into place, he MIGHT resurrect his career.
I hope Andrew Painter doesn’t become the next Spencer Howard.
Not the Giants he was looking for. 😁
Seriously, always a good shot at getting back, like going to AAA to work on your game except you get paid better!
Ha he played for sf!
giants making moves! well not the giants I want to see making moves but at least it is a giants making a move
Of course he had to sign overseas…because he stinks!
A trade Dombrowski will never get proper credit for among Phillies fans.
A trade I’ve always appreciated as a Phillies fan, but then again, I’m just here to confuse the narrative.
I thought Howard was going to be a stud. He had good stuff and his minor league numbers were elite a few years ago. Maybe he can figure things out overseas and come back eventually.
Another signing for the Giants! 🙂 Oh wait…