Filed under: Red Sox, MLB Hot Stove, MLB Free Agency
The Red Sox will have a familiar option available for lefty relief in 2011.Hideki Okajima reportedly is close to a deal that will bring him back to Boston, just weeks after he was non-tendered by the Red Sox. The pending deal was first reported by the Boston Globe.
Okajima, 35, will be by far the most seasoned of the cast competing to be a lefty specialist for the Sox next spring -- a group that for now includes Andrew Miller, Felix Doubront, Lenny DiNardo and Rich Hill. Chances are manager Terry Francona will be more comfortable turning to Okajima in those dicey situations, given his generally solid work in Boston the last four years.
Okajima has made 254 appearances for the Sox since coming over from Japan before the 2007 season but was not at his best in 2010. His ERA jumped to 4.50 and his WHIP to 1.717 as lefties hit .284 against him.
The Red Sox non-tendered him Dec. 2 after he made $2.75 million last year, but general manager Theo Epstein indicated at the time that Okajima might be back.
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Source: http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/12/31/hideki-okajima-reportedly-close-to-returning-to-red-sox/
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