Recently, the big news in baseball has been concerning Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. More specifically the headlines read that the Boston Red Sox bid $51.1 million* simply for the right to to negotiate with the pitcher.

The star pitcher for the Seibu Lions, Matsuzaka was also the MVP of the 2006 World Baseball Classic.

Well, the Red Sox have some competition, of course not for Matsuzaka but for another Japanese pitcher. The latest news revolves around Red Sox arch-rivals, the New York Yankees and their deal with Kei Igawa. The Yankees successfully struck a deal for $25 million* with Igawa’s Japanese team, the Hanshin Tigers.

So what are we looking at? The two biggest and richest teams in baseball may get two of Japan’s best pitchers. Expect a shootout folks…too bad teams that I actually like didn’t strike a deal. Oh well.

*each team only pays the bid amount to the current team if contract negotions with that player are successful.

The News
Matsuzaka Watch

…in other recent Japanese-related MLB news that I care about, The Colorado Rockies have re-signed a deal with second baseman Kaz Matsui for a 1-year deal worth $1.5 million.