Daisuke Matsuzaka hasn’t lived up to the lofty expectations that accompanied him to America back in 2007. Now, as he looks for his next contract, the right-hander could end up settling for a minor league deal.
Matsuzka’s next team could be the Indians, Marlins or Mets, according to Gen Sueyoshi of Japan’s yakyubaka.com.
Matsuzaka, who inked a lucrative six-year deal with the Red Sox back in 2007 after enjoying success while playing in Japan, has battled injury problems in recent years. The 32-year-old had Tommy John surgery in June of 2011, and he was limited to just eight appearances that year and 11 in 2012.
The Japanese product went 50-37 with a 4.52 ERA in 117 appearances (116 starts) over the course of his six years in Boston. While he battled injuries most of the time, Matsuzaka did go 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 29 starts in 2008, which was good enough for fourth in AL Cy Young voting.
Of course, whichever team gambles on the underwhelming righty will be hoping that he can at least regain some of that ’08 form. At this point, though, it’s hard to envision such a scenario.
松坂、移籍先絞った！インディアンス、マーリンズ、メッツの３球団！：ＭＬＢ：スポーツ報知 hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/mlb/news/20130… Daisuke Matsuzaka down to Indians, Marlins, Mets
— Gen Sueyoshi (@gwynar) January 17, 2013
