|
|
Tazawa rejects offers from 3 teams, set to join Red Sox
|
TOKYO, Nov. 28 Kyodo
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|