Adelaide Giants Add Five NPB Players From Marines and Yomiuri for ABL Season
Adelaide Giants will welcome five NPB players from the Chiba Lotte Marines and Yomiuri Giants for the 2026-27 Australian Baseball League season.
World Baseball News Editorial Team , 2 min read 
The defending Australian Baseball League champion Adelaide Giants are set to welcome five players from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball system for the 2026–27 season, with the Chiba Lotte Marines sending two infielders and the Yomiuri Giants assigning three younger players. The additions give Adelaide an unusual blend of established top-flight experience and developing talent before the ABL opens on November 19.
Chiba Lotte’s Atsuki Tomosugi and Kyuto Ueda will join Yomiuri infielder Kota Hirayama, pitcher Yuki Hanada and catcher Tatsuya Sakamoto in Adelaide. The assignments were announced separately by the Japanese clubs, with the Yomiuri trio confirmed on October 21.
Marines send two experienced infielders
Tomosugi, 25, has already played 392 NPB games across four seasons. The right-handed hitter appeared in 87 games for Chiba Lotte in 2026, batting .236. Ueda, also 25, offers more power: he hit eight home runs in 66 NPB games this year after hitting three in 2025.
The Marines announced their Australian assignments on October 15, with both players scheduled to be away from November 8 through December 21. For Adelaide, the pair could provide immediate infield options while gaining additional competitive at-bats during the Japanese offseason.
Yomiuri’s young trio gets an overseas test
Hirayama, 22, reached Yomiuri’s first team for 40 games in 2026, hitting .248 with three home runs and 11 RBIs. Right-hander Hanada, 23, recorded a 1.99 ERA in 10 farm-team appearances, nine of them starts. Catcher Sakamoto, 24, hit .258 in 19 minor-league games.
Yomiuri plans for its three players to depart Japan on November 9 and return on December 21. The Australian stint offers regular competition and a chance to build experience outside the NPB environment, particularly for players seeking to establish themselves in the Giants’ senior squad.
Adelaide strengthens a title defense
The influx arrives as Adelaide prepares to defend the Claxton Shield after beating the Sydney Blue Sox 6–2 in the deciding game of January’s ABL Championship Series. It was the Giants’ third Australian title in four seasons.
The five Japanese players are expected to be available for the opening portion of the ABL campaign rather than the entire season. Their arrival adds a compelling Japan–Australia connection to a club already carrying championship expectations into November.
