The Rakuten Eagles have agreed to trade right-hander Yasuhiro Ichiba to the Yakult Swallows for outfielder Ryuji Miyade, the teams said Monday.
Yakult said it is hoping to bolster its starting rotation with the 26-year-old Ichiba, while Rakuten was in the market for a right-handed hitting outfielder.
Expectations of Ichiba were high when he joined the Eagles in their inaugural season in 2005 and he went on to win seven games in his second year.
But the fastballer has struggled since and finished without posting a win in 2008.
The former Meiji University student became the center of a scandal when he tainted his reputation by violating draft eligibility rules and receiving money from several pro baseball clubs.
He joined Rakuten through a pre-draft arrangement after drawing interest from the Yomiuri Giants, Yokohama BayStars and Hanshin Tigers. All three teams engaged in unethical scouting of the amateur prospect by giving him money.
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