Former Yankees home run king heads to Japan

Former Yankees home run king heads to Japan originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

Luke Voit is headed overseas. The former Yankees first baseman has signed with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball for the remainder of the 2025 season, finalizing a deal that was rumored for weeks.

For Yankees fans, Voit is more than just a name in a transaction.

He was almost a mascot. He looked and talked like Bronx Bomber. He was a slugger who showed up with little fanfare and started mashing like he’d always belonged in the Bronx. Acquired at the 2018 trade deadline in a low-key deal with the Cardinals, Voit immediately became a fan favorite with his bulldog energy and his ability to hit the ball into orbit.

New York Yankees first baseman Luke VoitDale Zanine-Imagn Images

His peak came in 2020, when he led the majors with 22 home runs in the pandemic-shortened season. He finished ninth in AL MVP voting and seemed poised to anchor the Yankees’ lineup for years.

But the injuries hit hard and fast. Injuries cut his 2021 season short, and with the Yankees shifting direction, Voit was dealt to the Padres in spring 2022 after the Yankees re-signed Anthony Rizzo.

He never quite recaptured his Bronx magic. After short stints with the Nationals and Brewers, Voit hadn’t appeared in a big-league game since mid-2023.

Still just 34, Voit heads to Japan with something left to prove—and maybe something to rediscover. His swing, at its best, was a force. In New York, he delivered loud homers, fun postgame interviews, and one of the few bright spots in a strange 2020 season.

Yankees fans will remember the jersey opened one button extra and the ‘guns out when the sun’s out’ mentality. And now they’ll be watching from afar, hoping the next chapter brings Voit the same spark he brought to the Stadium.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 22, 2025, where it first appeared.

Former Yankees home run king heads to Japan

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