Daisuke Matsuzaka will be coming back to the NPB team he started his professional career with. It was reported by Kyodo News that the Saitama Seibu Lions will sign him for the 2020 season.
Matsuzaka, 39, was previously with the Chunichi Dragons for the last two years and saw minimal action in 2019. He was originally a first round draft pick by the Lions in 1998 and was the ace. Besides winning the 1999 Rookie of the Year award, he was a champion in 2004.
In 2006, until he was posted to the Boston Red Sox. He won the World Series in 2007, but thing went downhill in the majors once his injuries piled up. Matsuzaka had a short stint with the New York Mets and also three years with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks from 2015-2017.
His best year since returning to NPB was in 2018, where he went 5-4 with a 3.74 ERA in 11 games as an occasional spot starter. Matsuzaka won the fan vote for the all-star game that year as a result.
The Red Sox posting fee money of $50 million led to renovations of MetLife Dome which includes an updated scoreboard, bullpen box seats and restroom upgrades.
While MLB fans remember Matsuzaka's expensive posting fee and time in Boston, those in Japan remember him as a Koshien star where he threw a no-hitter and carried Yokohama High School to a championship.
For the Lions, he will sell merchandise and tickets for one last farewell tour before he likely retires. This should be similar to what Kimiyasu Kudo did in 2010 for his last year as a player, appearing in a handful of games before the official retirement ceremony at the end of the regular season. He'll be a spot starter given how many regular rotation spots will go to younger pitcher.
Contributions on the field might be minimal, but his bat could contribute if the Lions like what they see. They should try him as a pinch hitter.
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