Japanese free agent outfielder Shogo Akiyama has signed a three-year, $21 million contract with the Cincinnati Reds, the National League club announced Monday.

The 31-year-old filed for international free agency following his ninth season with the Seibu Lions in Japan's Pacific League in order to pursue a career in Major League Baseball.

"We scouted Shogo for several years in anticipation of his free agency," Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams said in a statement.

"We like his approach at the plate as well as his outfield defense, and we think he will complement our team very well."

Cincinnati is the only one of the MLB's 30 teams that has never had an active Japanese player in their 150-year history. The Reds finished fourth in the five-team National League Central division last season with a 75-87 record.

A .301 career hitter and five-time All Star in Japan, Akiyama was considered a prospect by several major league teams and had also met with the Chicago Cubs and the Arizona Diamondbacks in December.

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He became the third Japanese player to join an MLB club during this off-season. DeNA BayStars slugger Yoshitomo Tsutsugo inked a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Rays and pitcher Shun Yamaguchi of the Yomiuri Giants signed with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Akiyama turned pro out of university in 2011 as the Lions' third-round pick in the 2010 amateur draft. In 2015, his 216 hits broke Japan's single-season hit record, and he led the Pacific League with a .322 batting average in 2017.

Last season, Akiyama batted .303 with 179 hits and 62 RBIs in 143 games and helped the Lions win their second straight pennant. He also won his fourth PL Best Nine Award and his sixth Golden Glove.