After a stellar start to his career in Japan, Luke Voight The Rakuten Hawks announced that they have re-signed the first baseman to a new contract through the 2026 Nippon Professional Baseball season for one more year. (A tribute to Yakyu Cosmopolitan.)
Voit signed with the Hawks in June and quickly made an impact with his new team. As a DH and first baseman, Voit hit .300/.384/.498 with 13 home runs in 276 games and 67 plate appearances. Even though Voit entered the 2025 season late in the season, he still leads the Eagles in homers and is second on the team in RBIs (39). Retaining Voit is a logical move for the lacking depth Eagles, whose 70 homers are the fewest among the NPB’s 12 clubs.
Voight, a seven-season Major League Baseball veteran, last appeared on the show in May 2023 while playing for the Brewers. He has spent the past two seasons completely away from affiliates, playing in the Mexican League and Japan Professional Baseball League, and it now appears that his stay will extend into 2026.
Voit led the league with 22 homers in the shortened 2020 season and hit 68 in 1,133 PA with the Yankees from 2018-21, hitting a very impressive .271/.363/.520. Voit struggled with injuries in 2021, and New York traded him to the Padres in the offseason. The slugger’s last bit of real notoriety in the majors came when San Diego added him as the only experienced player in a prospect-laden trade package sent to the Nationals. Juan Soto 2022 Trade Deadline.
