Igarashi testing MLB waters

It was reported that Ryota Igarashi, long-time set-up and closer out of the Tokyo bullpen, will be spending the winter training in the United States as he works through the process of signing with a team there.

A couple of teams have apparentlyalready shown interest in the hard throwing right-handed pitcher: the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Texas Rangers.

Interestingly, the Pirates just acquired Akinori Iwamura in a straight-up trade with Tampa Bay. Iwamura was traded man-for-man with Jesse Chavez, a decent relief pitcher. The Rays apparently felt that Iwamura, just coming off a season cut short by a knee injury, was going to be too expensive to hold onto for a utility player. The Pirates, meanwhile, desperately need a second baseman (Iwamura played third for the Tokyo Swallows), and a healthy Aki Iwamura can definitely plug that gap for them.

If Igarashi ends up signing with Pittsburgh, then it would be a reunion of sorts for the two former Tokyo players. It would also be the first time that two former Tokyo Swallows players have ended up on the same MLB team.