Giants pitcher Shun Yamaguchi wants to move to MLB

Yomiuri Giants right-hander Shun Yamaguchi, who won 15 games this season, intends to move to the major leagues, a source with knowledge of the matter said Sunday night.

To do so, the 32-year-old pitcher will need the Giants to either release or post him. If the Giants post him, it would be a first for a franchise that has long been harshly critical of the posting system.

Former Giants ace Koji Uehara asked the club to post him so that he could move to the majors in 2006, but his request was denied and he was unable to move to the major leagues until he could file for free agency at the age of 33.

Yamaguchi, who lost four games this year, led the Central League in winning percentage and strikeouts as he contributed to Yomiuri’s first CL pennant in five years. He signed with the Giants ahead of the 2016 season after leaving the Yokohama BayStars as a free agent.

Although his contract was reported as a three-year deal, Yamaguchi is ostensibly still under team control because players filing for free agency in Japan must wait another four years before they regain the right to file again.

Yamaguchi turned pro in 2006 after the BayStars took him in the first round of the 2005 high school draft. By 2009, he had become the BayStars’ top reliever, and in 2012 became the youngest player to record 100 saves. He has been used as a starter since 2014, and has a career record of 64-58 with 112 saves.

The posting system allows Japanese players under contract to negotiate with major league teams. If a contract is concluded, their Japanese clubs receive a transfer fee based on a prescribed percentage of the value of the player’s contract.

The Giants could opt to simply release Yamaguchi with no compensation, but with the knowledge that their record of never posting a player remains intact.

Three other Japanese players are currently headed toward the major leagues this winter — outfielders Yoshitomo Tsutsugo of the BayStars and Shogo Akiyama of the Pacific League’s Seibu Lions, and second baseman Ryosuke Kikuchi of the CL’s Hiroshima Carp. Akiyama is a free agent, and Tsutsugo has been posted, while the Carp have announced they will post Kikuchi.

Source : Baseball – The Japan Times