Cuban ace Raidel Martinez made Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) history when the 28-year-old Yomiuri Giants right-hander pitched 25 games out of the bullpen without allowing a run. He surpassed the previous franchise record of 24, set by Tetsuya Yamaguchi – a World Baseball Classic winner and a Yomiuri Giants coach since 2020 – during the 2012 season.
Born in Pinar del Rio in 1996, Martinez played 44 games (14 as a starter) in Cuba’s Serie Nacional (Ciego de Avila and Pinar del Río) before signing for NPB’s Chunichi Dragons in February 2017. He pitched 17 games for the Dragons’ farm team before making his NPB debut in 2018.
He became Chunichi’s closer in 2020 and earned 21 saves. He saved 23 wins in 2021, 39 in 2022, 32 in 2023 and 43 in 2024. At the end of the season, he agreed to a four-year contract with the Yomiuri Giants worth US$32.5 million, an NPB record deal for a Latin American player and an allegedly record NPB annual salary (US$8.125 million) in a multi-year deal. Martinez reportedly declined offers ranging from US$50 million to US$70 million from Major League Baseball (MLB) teams to maintain his affiliation with the Cuban Baseball Softball Federation.
Martinez has represented Cuba in the 2019 and 2024 editions of the WBSC Premier12, as well as in the 2017 and 2023 World Baseball Classic. He helped his country win a silver medal at the 2019 Central American and Caribbean Games.
Raidel’s 2025 season has been impressive so far. He appeared in 25 games, didn’t allow a run in 24.2 innings, striking out 22 and allowing only 13 hits and six walks. He collected 21 saves and is on pace for 53.
Former MLB reliever Dennis Sarfate set the single-season save record of 54 when he pitched for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in 2017. Sarfare became the 2017 Japan Series MVP and is the only foreign player who has surpassed 200 saves in NPB history.
Sarfate, born in Queens (New York) in 1981, is No. 8 on the all-time NPB saves list. Itoke Iwasi is the all-time leader with 407.
Martinez is No. 13 with 190, but eyes No. 11 Yutaka Enatsu (193) and No. 12 Tatsushi Masuda (194).