Baseball in Japan is different than the United States.
The language is different, the culture is different and even the baseballs are different. That’s what Detroit Tigers left-hander Bryan Sammons discovered in 2025 while pitching for the Chiba Lotte Marines in Nippon Professional Baseball, which is Japan’s top league.
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The overseas experience left a lasting impression on him, both professionally and personally.
“After my baseball career is over, I could take a vacation to Japan,” Sammons said, “but to be able to immerse yourself in the culture for that long is something you might not ever get to do in your lifetime. It’s something I’ve always been intrigued by, so when I got the opportunity, I decided to take advantage of it.”
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Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Bryan Sammons delivers in his MLB debut in the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Comerica Park on Monday, July 29, 2024 in Detroit.
In 2026, Sammons is back with the Tigers after pitching in Japan, signing a minor-league contract that will pay $1.25 million if he makes the MLB roster.
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The 30-year-old made a strong impression with the Tigers in July and August 2024 upon making his MLB debut, serving as one of the first experiments in manager A.J. Hinch‘s “pitching chaos” strategy of openers and bulk relievers that led to a magical run to the postseason.
Two years later, Sammons can’t wait to reunite with his old teammates in spring training.
“The biggest thing I remember is how great the guys were in the clubhouse and how much fun we had as a team,” said Sammons, crediting Hinch for his “unorthodox” but “definitely effective” pitching strategy in 2024. “When I first got called up, the playoffs didn’t really seem realistic at the time, but we kept believing and just took it day by day.”
Before returning to the familiar Tigers, Sammons immersed himself in an unfamiliar experience by accepting a one-year contract to pitch in Japan for the 2025 season. He registered a 3.43 ERA with 48 walks (9.4% walk rate) and 100 strikeouts (19.6% strikeout rate) across 120⅔ innings in 24 games.
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The biggest adjustment?
The approach of the hitters.
“There are a lot of really good hitters over there,” Sammons said. “A lot of guys here want the ball inside and want to lift the ball. Guys over there are looking to get on top of the ball, hit hard line drives and ground balls, and try to get on base. They’re more old-school in their two-strike approach, too. You’ll probably get a little more chase over there with two strikes, but you’ll also get a lot more foul balls, where you throw it six inches off the plate, and you don’t know how they even got their bat to it.”
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Sammons throws a four-seam fastball that averages 91.5 mph, which he pairs with a splitter, sweeper, cutter and curveball.
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He tweaked his splitter in Japan.
The smaller baseball in Japan forced Sammons to experiment with his splitter grip, widening his fingers beyond the horseshoe seams on the ball – an adjustment that made the pitch more effective. He is bringing the refinement with him to the larger baseball in the United States.
“It’s probably more of a true splitter now,” Sammons said. “I’m still trying to go a little bit wider, and I also rotated the ball slightly in my hand, just to help me hopefully get a little bit more tumble.”
His fastball remains his best weapon.
It’s a low-velocity pitch, but it still misses bats, limits contact and suppresses damage.
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“I have a little extra carry, a little extra extension, a little bit of cut,” Sammons said. “I also do a pretty good job of keeping it out of the middle of the plate, as well as being able to mix other pitches in the strike zone. If they start sitting softer, then you’re able to surprise them with the fastball.”
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After a life-changing stint in Japan, Sammons has returned to the Tigers in 2026 with 2024 on his mind. He received interest from multiple teams, including the Tigers, in mid-January after showcasing refined mechanics and control at Tread Athletics’ Pro Day event in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Sammons also showed interest in the Tigers for several reasons, including familiarity with his teammates, trust in the pitching coaches and the chance to pitch in the postseason.
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“It just helps in general going to a team where I speak the same language as everybody,” Sammons said. “That gives me a little bit of comfort. But knowing most of the guys in that clubhouse, I’m looking forward to catching up with them. It’s a great group.”
In 2024, Sammons posted a 3.62 ERA with nine walks and 18 strikeouts across 27⅓ innings in six games for the Tigers, all out of the bullpen. He surrendered five runs to the Cleveland Guardians over 7⅓ innings in his MLB debut, then allowed just six runs over 20 innings across his final five outings. He also logged a 4.15 ERA over 102 innings in 22 games (20 starts) for Triple-A Toledo.
He considered quitting baseball before signing with the Tigers out of the independent Atlantic League in June 2023.
Looking ahead to 2026, Sammons appears set to open the season as a starter in the Triple-A rotation. If the Tigers carry a third left-handed reliever in the MLB bullpen alongside Tyler Holton and Brant Hurter, he could compete with Enmanuel De Jesus, Sean Guenther, Bailey Horn and Drew Sommers for that spot.
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It won’t be easy, but a path to the 2026 Opening Day roster exists.
“I’m excited to get to work,” Sammons said. “I’m going to compete to the best of my abilities and try to stay in big-league camp as long as I can – and make it a tough decision for them to send me down.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers’ Bryan Sammons brings Japan-honed splitter to MLB