Highly regarded Japanese amateur pitcher Junichi Tazawa has rejected offers from three major league clubs, effectively ensuring he will join the Boston Red Sox, baseball sources said Friday.
The 22-year-old Nippon Oil right-hander has contacted the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves and Seattle Mariners to reject their respective offers.
Tazawa is expected to announce he will join the Red Sox early next week to follow in the footsteps of countrymen Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima.
Of the four teams that have put forward concrete offers for Tazawa, the Rangers have reportedly made the most attractive bid.
But Tazawa apparently holds Matsuzaka in high esteem and is motivated to join the Red Sox because of their focus on developing young talent.
Tazawa has been the focus of attention in the baseball business across the Pacific Ocean since he made clear his intention in September to pursue a major league career by refusing to be named at the Japanese amateur draft.
His move, the first such case by a top amateur player, irked officials of Japan's pro leagues and prompted them to work toward setting new rules aimed at curbing outflows of promising talent from the country.
With a mixture of varied off-speed pitches and a fastball clocking over 150 kilometers per hour, Tazawa helped Nippon Oil win the intercity tournament in September and reach the semifinals of the national corporate championship that ended Sunday.
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