When a prominent Japanese standout makes the jump to the major leagues, they often get the red carpet treatment. Shohei Ohtani, Masataka Yoshida, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and others before them all arrived to great fanfare, bringing a level of intrigue that often exceeds your typical free agent signing.

But not all Japanese players enjoy that same experience, as new Red Sox right-hander Naoyuki Uwasawa can attest. He’s only been in the United States for four months and is already pitching for his second organization, but even after a chaotic start to his MLB career, Uwasawa considers himself fortunate to have wound up in Boston.

“I’m beyond excited to be here,” Uwasawa said via translator Taishi Terashima.

A veteran of nine seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, the 30-year-old Uwasawa made the jump to America this past offseason after posting a 3.19 career ERA over 1,118.1 innings in NPB. Initially he signed a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays, which included an invitation to spring training and presumably an opportunity to make the big league club, but Uwasawa wound up getting reassigned to minor league camp before Opening Day.

Sensing an opportunity and needing starting pitching depth, the Red Sox traded for him and eventually assigned him to Triple-A Worcester. He made three starts for the WooSox, going 2-1 with a 4.80 ERA over 15 innings, and on Sunday was called up to Boston to help fortify the club’s bullpen.

“He’s going to provide us length,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “Fastball isn’t overpowering but it’s a good (splitter) and that’s something we’ve been talking about throughout the week, the usage. It’s a good pitch. He’s going to pound the strike zone.

“He’ll be in the bullpen, it’s the first time he’s done that in his career except for spring training so we’ve got to make sure when he’s coming in to give him some leeway to be ready,” Cora continued. “But we’re excited to have him here, this is a guy we talked to in the offseason, it didn’t happen but we really like the split and the strike throwing too.”

Uwasawa’s splitter is his bread and butter, and since coming to the United States he said he’s continued to work on the pitch and now feels it has even more depth and consistency. The goal now is to dial in its usage so he can better set up his other pitches, something that will be essential to his success against the higher level of competition in the majors.

“Now I’m using more splitters and I feel like the hitters have the splitter in their mind and other pitches play up when the splitter is going,” Uwasawa said.

Though he acknowledged the start of his journey has been hectic, Uwasawa said he feels he’s benefitted from experiencing both the Rays and Red Sox developmental programs. While Cora said he won’t be a candidate to start just yet, Uwasawa is grateful for his opportunity and for the chance to pitch in a place like Fenway Park.

“I knew this stadium has a lot of history and when I stepped on it I really felt a special feeling,” Uwasawa said.