NPB: Taiwan's ace pitcher Song Chia-hao returns to top team, aims for 'domestic foreign player' status

Taiwanese pitcher Song Chia-hao has been recalled to the Rakuten Monkeys' ichigun (first team) in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, marking his return to the top level of play. The 33-year-old right-hander last appeared in the ichigun on June 17 and has since been playing in the niigun (farm team).

During his recent appearances in the niigun, Song demonstrated strong performance. He pitched 5.2 innings over his last six games, allowing only one run and maintaining a streak of five consecutive scoreless appearances. Overall in the niigun this season, he recorded one win, one save, and a 2.45 ERA across 12 games, striking out 11 batters in 11 innings pitched.

Song's previous ichigun stats for the season include 17 appearances, two wins, two saves, and a 3.21 ERA over 14 innings. He also recorded 8 strikeouts against 4 walks, with opponents hitting .424 against him and a WHIP of 2.07.

This season marks Song Chia-hao's 10th year in Japanese professional baseball. He is actively working towards qualifying for "domestic foreign player" status. This designation allows foreign players, after completing eight seasons in the ichigun with at least 145 days on the roster each season, to be exempt from the league's foreign player limits.