THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
December 4, 2019 at 13:30 JST
Japan starting pitcher Shun Yamaguchi delivers a pitch against South Korea in the first inning of their Premier12 baseball tournament final game at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo on Nov. 17. (AP file photo)
NEW YORK--Two players from Japan, Shun Yamaguchi and Ryosuke Kikuchi, have been made available to major league teams through the posting process.
Clubs have until Jan. 2 (5 p.m. EST) to negotiate with them, Major League Baseball said Tuesday.
Yamaguchi, a 32-year-old right-hander with the Yomiuri Giants, was 15-4 with a 2.91 ERA and 188 strikeouts in 170 innings. He led the Central League in wins and strikeouts, helping Yomiuri to its first Central League pennant in five years.
Kikuchi, a second baseman who turns 30 in March, hit .261 with 13 homers, 48 RBIs and 14 stolen bases for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.
Yokohama outfielder Yoshitomo Tsutsugo was posted last month and is available until Dec. 19.
MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball reached a posting agreement after the 2017 season. An MLB team would pay a Japanese club fee of 20 percent of guaranteed money in a major league contract through $25 million (2.7 billion yen), plus 17.5 percent above that through $50 million, plus 15 percent over that.
A supplemental fee would equal 15 percent of any earned bonuses, escalators and compensation from option years that are exercised or become guaranteed.
Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors.
A peek through the music industry’s curtain at the producers who harnessed social media to help their idols go global.
Cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.
A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry
A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II
