2008 Offseason: Tazawa update
November 4, 2008 3 Comments
Japanese pitcher Junichi Tazawa was not drafted by any of the 12 Nippon League teams, as he formally requested. You can pretty much imagine what those contract talks would have gone like, had a team disregarded his wishes.
Anyway, that frees Tazawa as a free agent, able to sign with any MLB team without a posting fee. The youngster can touch 97 mph with his fastball, and as many as seven Major League clubs have expressed interest, with the Red Sox considered to be the frontrunner to sign the phenom. Tazawa has begun meeting with team brass to discuss a potential deal.
Red Sox Talk 
Apparently the Braves have already offered him a Major League contract, so there is quite a bit of interest in the 22-year old:
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2008/11/05/sox_interested_in_japan_hurlers
The Sox may also consider 33-year old RHP Kenshin Kawakami, who is likened to Hiroki Kuroda in the above article.
Derek Lowe says his number one choice is Beantown, but we may not choose him back.
why did my post get deleteded?
Hi Joe, I’m sorry if your comment was deleted by accident. I get a lot of spammers here who post short comments just to get their URL up here.