Can’t Win ‘Em All

Posted by Adam Hart October 25, 2009 at 12:32 am

It would be unreasonable to assume every Japanese player would want to join the Red Sox.

Yusei Kikuchi, an 18-year-old Japanese pitcher, is not joining the Red Sox, or any other Major League team. He made the announcement at a press conference, the news of which occurred during my long commute home from NECN Headquarters.

He had the choice of entering the NPB Draft or signing with an MLB team, but opted to forego the latter. By signing with an NPB team, he will be required to go through the transfer process to make the jump to the majors — the same process that brought Daisuke Matsuzaka to Boston. Or he can wait until he becomes a free agent, which is years away.  So maybe Red Sox fans see him down the road some day.