Former Royals southpaw eying completely new role in potential MLB comeback

News of NPB talent looking to make the jump overseas and forge a career in Major League Baseball has grabbed plenty of headlines in recent weeks.

While the most notable news has been the reports that stars like Munetaka Murakami, Tatsuya Imai and Kazuma Okamoto will be posted, other names are looking to make their way back to MLB after taking some time away overseas, like Foster Griffin.

Reports surfaced last week that Griffin was looking to make the jump back to Major League Baseball. And this weekend, Griffin sat down with FanSided's MLB insider Robert Murray, where he outlined what he hopes his return looks like, which included the mention of an all new role than what he had his first time around.

Former Royal Foster Griffin hopes to return to MLB as starting pitcher in 2026

Griffin built his name as one of the top prospects in the Royals organization as a starter, but only ever appeared in the major leagues as a reliever.

He also did so unsuccessfully, throwing to a 6.75 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in 8.0 innings of work across seven games between the 2020 season and the 2022 season with both the Royals and Toronto Blue Jays.

However, he told Murray that this time around he feels he's earned the shot at being a starter in the majors after a successful three-year stint in NPB.

"I was a starter in Japan for the last three years, so I feel like I’ve established myself over there as one," Griffin said to Murray. "I’d like to be one here."

In three seasons as a member of the Yomiuri Giants' rotation, Griffin threw to a 2.57 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 315.2 innings across 54 starts. This included the season he just completed, which was statistically the best season in his NPB career. In 78 games across 14 outings, he threw to a 1.62 ERA and 0.95 WHIP.

What could fuel a better showing in MLB this time around for Griffin is his diverse pitching arsenal which has come a long way from his original pitch mix. As Murray reports, Griffin now throws seven different pitches.

Now that he's established himself as a starter, Griffin feels he has a desirable mold that will intrigue teams in free agency this winter.

"We'll have to see what transpires in the next little while to see what teams are after," Griffin said. "I know starting pitching is kind of a need in the big leagues, and left-handed starting pitching as well."

Where he ends up remains to be seen, but what it seems improbable at this point is a reunion with his former club. The Royals already have too many starting pitchers as it is already with three established southpaws likely to play a big role in 2026 in Cole Ragans, Noah Cameron and Kris Bubic.

Still, as Griffin said, lefty starters are always heavily in demand, so just because the Royals may have their lefty starting needs covered, doesn't mean there aren't numerous other organizations that would love to take a chance on him in an MLB comeback.