The Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners will contact people close to highly touted amateur fastballer Junichi Tazawa on Tuesday, baseball sources said Saturday.
The Braves and Mariners are the first major league clubs to make business moves with an eye on acquiring the player of the Nippon Oil corporate team after Japanese baseball's amateur draft held last Thursday.
Nippon Oil manager Hideaki Okubo is expected to handle the visits of officials from the two clubs. Tazawa is making preparation for the national championship beginning on Nov. 13 and is unlikely to attend the meetings.
In September, Tazawa made clear his intention to ply his trade in the major leagues and asked all 12 Japanese professional clubs not to name the 22-year-old in the amateur draft. His move has prompted baseball officials to change regulations in order to help prevent further outflows of top amateur prospects from the country by bypassing Japan's pro leagues.
Although Tazawa was technically available in the draft, none of the Japanese clubs made a bid for him because of his desire to pursue a major league career.
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