York’s Otosaka headed to Seattle Mariners organization

(May 09, 2025 – York, Pa.):  The contract of star York Revolution outfielder Tomo Otosaka has been purchased by the Seattle Mariners, it was announced by Atlantic League officials on Friday. A former major league star in his native Japan, Otosaka is now one step closer to reaching the big leagues in the United States as he lands with an MLB organization for the first time in his accomplished pro career. 

Otosaka returned to York for his second stint with the Revs in 2025 and was off to a sizzling start. The center fielder and leadoff man played in York’s first nine games during which he batted .405 (15-for-37), fourth highest in the Atlantic League, while ripping six doubles, one behind teammate Frankie Tostado for the league’s top number. His .500 on-base percentage places him in the top five currently while he also had one homer, 11 runs scored, and four stolen bases. 

“I’m extremely happy for Tomo,” remarked Revs manager Rick Forney. “He’s such a good person and a great teammate. He’s an extremely hard worker and is very deserving of this opportunity.” 

Otosaka had embarked on his second season in York after a brilliant 2023 campaign, his first in the United States. The dynamic lefty hitter batted .330 in 111 games, posting an average that ranked fourth highest in the Atlantic League that season, top ten in a season in franchise history, and the current sixth-highest career average in Revs history entering 2025. His .441 on-base percentage was second highest in a season in Revs history and made him the Revs career OBP leader to date. He also set a franchise single season record with 17 bunt hits and stole 42 bases, the league’s second-highest total that season and now the sixth-highest single season total in Revs history. Also a standout with the glove in centerfield, he was selected to the Atlantic League’s All-Defensive Team. He continued his strong play, going on to bat .327 in the Venezuelan Winter League that off-season before spending last summer in the Mexican League with Yucatan. 

The 31-year-old came to North America in 2023 having spent 10 seasons playing in his native Japan including eight seasons at the big-league level with his hometown Yokohama BayStars. A veteran of 468 games in Nippon Professional Baseball, Otosaka made his big-league debut at age 20 in 2014 following two years with Yokohama’s minor league club and homered in his debut game for his first career hit. Otosaka batted .229 in the majors and starred in multiple playoff runs for the BayStars. The 29-year-old slugged a game-winning three-run homer in a postseason game at Hanshin in 2017 and cracked a walk-off homer in 2019 vs. Hanshin to help the BayStars avoid elimination. In addition, Otosaka batted .272 with 128 stolen bases at the minor league level in Japan prior to first crossing the globe in 2022 to play in the Mexican League where he was one of that circuit’s top on-base and stolen base threats. 

Otosaka becomes the latest former Revs player to land in a Major League organization. Just this past week, 2024 Atlantic League All-Star outfielder and stolen base champion Rudy Martin Jr signed with the Kansas City Royals, while 2024 Atlantic League Pitcher of the Year Jon Olsen inked a contract with the New York Yankees, giving the Revs nine players from last year’s Atlantic League championship club sent back to Major League organizations. 

There has also long been a successful York to Seattle pipeline.  Last season, second baseman Kobe Kato’s contract was purchased by the Mariners as he went on to spend the remainder of the year at Double-A and Triple-A with Seattle before signing with the Atlanta Braves this off-season. In 2018, LHP Ross Detwiler’s contract was purchased by Seattle, as he went from York to the Majors in the same season for the first of two consecutive years. Two other former Revs, right handed pitchers Zac Grotz (2018) and Brett de Geus (2022) went on to pitch for Seattle at the big league level following their time spent in York. 

Otosaka, whose favorite player growing up was Mariners legend and 2025 National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Ichiro Suzuki, becomes the 55th Revs player to have his contract purchased by a Major League organization in-season.