Raidel Martínez amazes in Yomiuri Japanese training

February 7, 2025

The Cuban from the Yomiuri Giants, Raidel Martínez, amazed everyone today who witnessed his first bullpen session of the spring, including manager Shinnosuke Abe and Shosei Togo, one of his best pitchers.

According to reports from local media, Abe described the work of the Pinar-born giant as "incredible," due to the strength and precision of his fastball and the excellent quality of his breaking pitches, despite the cold weather and the force with which the wind was blowing.

Togo, for his part, did not hesitate to call the speedy Caribbean right-hander a "monster."

"His pitches were really impressive. That kind of trajectory is not seen very often. I have seen pitches from many players, including Tomoyuki Sugano -currently with the Baltimore Orioles-, but Martínez's are different," he explained.

Recall that manager Abe already confirmed Raidel as the club's closer pitcher, and demoted the previous "stopper," Taisei Ota, to the eighth inning, to further strengthen the design of the pitching duties.

The 28-year-old Cuban is living his first season with the Yomiuri Giants. Previously, he spent seven years with the Chunichi Dragons, with whom he won two saves titles and accumulated 166.