At this point, it's difficult to tell whether Daisuke Matsuzaka will ever play in the majors again, but Peter Gammons thinks a return with the Sox is unlikely and that Matsuzaka could return to Japan in 2013. He also said that Matsuzaka's agent told him that Dice-K doesn't trust people.
Gammons appeared on the Mut & Merloni Show on WEEI on Friday to discuss a number of topics, but particularly Matsuzaka's decision to undergo Tommy John surgery.
"The player's made up his mind he's going to have Tommy John surgery," Gammons said. "And if that's the case, it's a minimum of 15 months, so what are we talking about, August? He's not coming back August to September next year. He's going to go to Japan. His contract's up at the end of next year. He can go back to Japan."
Matsuzaka's five years in Boston has been full of ups and downs. While he helped the Sox win a World Series ring in 2007 and went 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 2008, he's also struggled at times, including this season prior to his injury.
Gammons said that he thinks Matsuzaka's lack of trust and failure to adjust to the new culture are big reasons why the right-hander hasn't met the lofty expectations that accompanied him.
"I don't think he really made a great effort to adjust to this culture. I think that was one of the problems, the communication and the adjustment to the culture, which he didn't really go in for," Gammons said. "One of his agents said to me, he just, he doesn't trust people. It's very hard to build up a relationship with a franchise if a guy doesn't trust them."
