Bears bring back Japanese pitcher Takada for 2nd KBO season

SEOUL, Oct. 27 (Yonhap) -- The Doosan Bears announced Tuesday they will bring back their Japanese pitcher Takuto Takada for his second season in South Korea.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club said the 24-year-old left-hander agreed to a new one-year deal worth US$220,000 as the Bears' Asian quota player.

Takada went 3-1 with eight holds in 39 appearances, including three starts, after joining the Bears in late May. Takada was brought in as a replacement for another Japanese pitcher, Ichiro Tamura.

Takada had a 0-1 record and an 8.76 ERA in his three starts but enjoyed more success as a reliever. For the second half of the season, Takada led all relief pitchers with 40 innings pitched, and his 1.58 ERA put him in second place among relievers with at least 30 innings thrown.

"I wanted to be back with the Doosan Bears for 2027 and I am happy to have realized that dream," Takada said. "Although I struggled early on, the team still showed faith in me, and that helped me finish the season on a stronger note. I don't know what kind of role I will take on next year but I think I should be prepared to become a starting pitcher next year."

The Bears said Takada went through only a short adjustment period in the KBO before finding his footing and they expected an even better performance from the hurler next year.