The Tampa Bay Rays have agreed to a two-year, $12 million deal with Japanese position player Yoshitomo Tsutsugo who was made available to major league teams through the posting system by the DeNA Baystars.
The Rays, who will pay a 20 percent release fee of approximately $2.4 million to Tsutsugo's former club, said Monday on their website the 28-year-old slugger will be introduced in a press conference at Tropicana Field on Tuesday.
"I will do my best to demonstrate in the major leagues all the achievements I've earned in my 10 years with the DeNA Baystars," Tsutsugo said in a statement.
Tsutsugo will wear No. 25, the same number he used in Japan.
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Tsutsugo is a left-handed-hitting outfielder, who has a career average of .285 with 977 hits, 205 homers and 613 RBIs in 968 games in 10 seasons in Japan. He joined the Yokohama-based BayStars in 2010 as the No. 1 draft pick straight out of Yokohama High School.
This past season, he hit .272 with 126 hits, including 29 homers, and had 79 RBIs in 557 plate appearances.
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) December 17, 2019
He also appeared on the international stage as Japan's cleanup hitter in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
The Rays finished second in the American League East last season with 96 wins and 66 losses, and advanced to the playoffs for the first time in six years as a wild card.
The team will open the 2020 season at home on March 26 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
