"Roster Shuffle Includes Addition of Former Japanese Major Leaguer"
GARY, Ind. — A former pitcher in the Japanese Major Leagues will play in America for the first time, and it will be in a RailCats uniform. Right-hander Takahiro Matsuka has agreed to terms with the RailCats.
Matsuka, 30, spent part of the 2009 season with the Yokohama Bay Stars in the Japan Central League and appeared in the Japan Pacific League with the Nippon Ham Fighters in 2010. In 14 career relief appearances at Japan’s highest level, Matsuka was 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 22 innings.
The rest of his career has been spent in the minor league systems of those two organizations, including the last two years with the Ham Fighters minor league clubs. In 2012, Matsuka was 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in 15 innings covering 16 appearances. Matsuka will be traveling overseas from his hometown of Takamatsu, Kagawa.
……Japanese pitcher Takahiro Matsuka, because of visa issues. The right-hander could join the RailCats over the weekend in Saint Paul, arriving on Saturday then pitching on Sunday, if he can acclimate to the time change.