Blue Jays officially sign Yamaguchi to two-year, $6.35-million contract

TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to terms with right-handed pitcher Shun Yamaguchi on a two-year contract worth $6.350 million, the team announced Saturday.

The 32 year old pitched 170.0 innings with a 2.91 ERA, 60 walks, and 188 strikeouts over 26 starts for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan last season.

Yamaguchi has played 14 seasons professionally in Japan, where he owns a 64-58 record and a 3.35 ERA over his 427 total appearances for Yokohama, DeNA and Yomiuri.

The native of Nakatsu, Japan was made available to all MLB clubs this off-season after being posted by his Japanese team.

Yamaguchi is set to become the sixth Japanese-born player to play for the Blue Jays, and the fourth pitcher to do so, joining Mike Nakamura (2004), Tomo Ohka (2007), and Ryota Igarashi (2012).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 28, 2019.

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