Red Sox finalize $3.3M deal with Japan’s Tazawa

BOSTON – Daisuke Matsuzaka helped the Boston Red Sox win the World Series in his first year and he won 18 games in his second. Now he’s pitching in with recruiting. The Red Sox signed their third pitcher from Japan on Thursday, adding right-handed amateur Junichi Tazawa to an organization that already included Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima. Tazawa said he spoke to his countrymen before signing the $3.3 million, three-year deal and was impressed with the way the organization had helped them acclimate to the United States. “We talked about baseball and also some cultural issues," Tazawa said through a translator at a Fenway Park news conference, adding that Matsuzaka was a hero of his. “He’s got a presence that’s even more above the clouds. ... To me, he’s the best player, and to be able to learn from him is an incredible opportunity." Boston’s presence in Japan has skyrocketed since signing Okajima and Matsuzaka after the 2006 season. Last spring, the club opened its season with two games against the Oakland Athletics in Tokyo. “When we signed Daisuke, it was for baseball reasons. We saw it as a unique opportunity to acquire a 26-year-old, top-of-the-rotation starter," Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said. “We certainly hoped and considered the fact that signing Daisuke would allow us to establish a heightened presence in Japan and around the world, and that someday there might be some ancillary benefits." Tazawa, 22, played for four years for Nippon Oil of the Japan Industrial League. He was 13-1 with 5 saves and a 0.80 ERA this season in 21 games, 11 of them starts, striking out 114 batters and walking 15 over 113 innings and pitching four shutouts. Spurning the Japanese pro leagues to sign with an American club, Tazawa had also drawn interest from the Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves. “I wanted to challenge myself to do more in the United States," Tazawa said. Epstein said Boston scouts watched Tazawa more than 20 times since last November and his velocity improved over time. He throws in the low 90 mph (140 kph) range, with a changeup, curveball and slider that he can throw for strikes. “He can hit his spots, and he’s got outstanding makeup on the mound," Epstein said. “We think he’s a solid prospect. Where he starts out remains to be seen." Tazawa is expected to begin next season in Double-A Portland, where he will be groomed for a spot in the rotation, but could soon join his Japanese countrymen with the Major League Baseball club. “He projects to be very versatile, but we’re going to start him off as a starting pitcher," Epstein said. “We’ll certainly give him every chance to start." Tazawa helped Nippon Oil win the 32-team Intercity baseball tournament for the first time in 13 years, appearing in five straight games, going 4-0 with one save and a 1.27 ERA and earning the event’s Most Valuable Player award. He also earned MVP honors in the Sports Nippon Tournament after a career-high 18-strikeout performance in the quarterfinals last March. No wonder that Nippon Professional Baseball was unhappy Tazawa bypassed the Japanese major leagues to negotiate with U.S. major league teams. In October, the country’s pro teams introduced a multiyear ban for players who opted out of the amateur draft and wanted to return from overseas stints. Epstein said he had a list of 50 Japanese amateurs who signed with 23 MLB organizations. “This is far from unprecedented," he said. Kazuhito Tadano, who pitched in 15 games over two seasons for the Cleveland Indians, and Mac Suzuki, who pitched six seasons with four clubs, are the only Japanese players to have played in MLB without playing in Japanese pro baseball first. “To me this is a story about Junichi wanting to challenge himself at the highest level of baseball. He had that desire. He expressed his desire," Epstein said. “We wanted to provide that opportunity." – AP