Padres sign Japanese pitcher Matsui to five-year MLB deal

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Yuki Matsui, a three-time season saves leader in Japan’s Pacific League, signed a five-year Major League Baseball contract with the San Diego Padres, the US club announced on Saturday, Dec. 23.

Matsui, a 28-year-old Japanese left-hander, has spent the past 10 years in Nippon Professional Baseball, where he made 236 saves in 501 career appearances for the Tohuku Rakuten Golden Eagles.

The five-time All-Star had a 2.40 career earned-run average in Japan with 860 strikeouts and led in saves in 2019 and the past two seasons.

Terms of the contract were not revealed but it reportedly pays Matsui $28 million with opt outs after the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

Matsui, who also pitched for this year’s Japan championship team in the World Baseball Classic, posted a 1.57 ERA this season with a career-best 39 saves and 72 strikeouts over 59 games.

The Padres have emphasized pitching in the off-season, bringing in four pitchers in a blockbuster trade deal with the New York Yankees for slugger Juan Soto.

San Diego’s first off-season free agent signing comes two days after reports the Los Angeles Dodgers, a National League West division rival of the Padres, had agreed to a 12-year deal worth $325 million with Japanese ace pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.