There are players on the rosters of both the Seattle Mariners and Oakland A's who had been to Japan prior to arriving on Friday ahead of their season-opening series at Tokyo Dome.
A few, like the Mariners' Ichiro Suzuki and Felix Hernandez or Oakland's Cliff Pennington and Jerry Blevins, were on their respective rosters when the same two teams opened the 2012 season in Japan.
Wade LeBlanc is among those with prior experience in Japan. But his trip wasn't just a one-off. LeBlanc spent the 2015 season with the Seibu Lions and is now back as a member of Mariners' pitching staff.