Pitcher Shun Yamaguchi has reached an agreement to return to the Yomiuri Giants in NPB’s Central League after terminating his contract with a San Francisco Giants minor-league affiliate, a source with knowledge of the matter said Thursday.
Yomiuri is expected to soon announce its signing of the 33-year-old right-hander, the first player to depart the tradition-rich club via the posting system when he joined the Toronto Blue Jays on a two-year deal ahead of the 2020 season.
Yamaguchi posted a 15-4 record and led the CL in strikeouts, wins and winning percentage in 2019, his previous season in Japan, when he helped the Giants win their first CL pennant in five years.
The Oita Prefecture native was unable to make an impact with the Blue Jays last year, when the MLB season was cut to just 60 games amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In 17 games, he posted a 2-4 record with an 8.06 ERA before being left off the team’s playoff roster.
Yamaguchi became a free agent after being released by Toronto in February. He signed a minor-league deal the same month with San Francisco and played for their Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats, before opting to return to Japan.
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Source : Baseball – The Japan Times