Long’s top big league season came in 2024, when he had a career-best 3.16 ERA and 25% strikeout rate in 42 2/3 innings out of the KC bullpen. Overall, Long is a low strikeout pitcher with fairly normal walk rates. Long’s results have tended to ebb and flow along with his batted ball luck, and he has a 4.65 ERA to show for his 211 career innings in the majors with the Giants, Athletics and Royals.
Injuries could partly explain his disappointing results this year, as Long missed more than two months of action due to elbow inflammation. He started to find his form closer to the end of the season, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Royals from cutting him from their 40-man roster in November, and Long subsequently opted for minor league free agency.
The 30-year-old would almost certainly have had to settle for a minor league contract this winter had he stuck with courting MLB teams, so the move to Japan will give Long some extra money on a guaranteed deal. He will now look for a fresh start to his career and a role with a Marines team that has made the playoffs four times in the last six years and thought they couldn’t advance to the Japan Series.
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