Right-hander José Ureña is headed overseas to join Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball next season.

The 34-year-old Ureña, who pitched for five major league teams in 2025, including the Toronto Blue Jays, has agreed to a professional contract with the Rakuten Golden Eagles, per the club’s announcement on Tuesday. He’ll join fellow former MLB pitchers Kenta Maeda and Roansy Contreras.

Since Ureña also made a brief stint with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season, appearing in just two games after being granted his release from the Blue Jays, he’s in line to receive a World Series ring later this year. He was guaranteed to take home a championship ring with two of his former teams — Toronto and Los Angeles — squaring off in the Fall Classic.

The veteran righty made 19 combined appearances (six starts) between the Blue Jays, Dodgers, Angels, Twins and Mets, pitching to a 4.58 ERA and 5.21 FIP with a 4.5 per cent strikeout-minus-walk rate (K-BB%) across 55 innings pitched.

Ureña joined Toronto’s starter-needy staff back in May, coinciding with Max Scherzer’s IL stint and the beginning of Bowden Francis’ disappointing ’25 performance. He made a pair of starts immediately after he signed with the organization, allowing a trio of runs (all earned) on six hits and a pair of walks while striking out two over 6.1 innings.

Afterwards, the Blue Jays shifted Ureña to the bullpen as a multi-inning reliever, where he made his next four appearances before being designated for assignment and ultimately released at the end of May. So far this winter, he owns a 3.86 ERA with nine strikeouts and four walks in four appearances (14 innings) in the Dominican Winter League.

He’ll now look to reinvent himself in Japan before likely pursuing a return to Major League Baseball — a pathway that’s become increasingly more lucrative for journeymen pitchers in recent years.