Cuban Reliever Raidel Martinez Marks 250th Save, First Foreign-Born Pitcher to Do So

In a Tokyo Dome victory over the Chunichi Dragons, Raidel Martinez earned his 250th save, the first foreign-born pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball to do so. The 29-year-old Cuban closed a 5-3 win for the Yomiuri Giants, marking his 38th save of the year and his 411th NPB appearance, beating the prior record of 435 games set by Kazuhiro Sasaki. The milestone grants him eligibility for the Meikyukai, a prestigious association for players reaching 2,000 hits, 200 wins or 250 saves across NPB and MLB.

Martinez expressed gratitude to fans, teammates, God and his family, reflecting on a decade in Japan that began with the Dragons as a development player in 2017. He has logged over 20 saves each season since 2020 and led the Central League in saves in 2022, 2024 and 2025. He joins a short list that includes Naoya Masuda, Shingo Takatsu, Hitoki Iwase and Yoshihisa Hirano.