 |
| Nakajima (KYODO PHOTO) |
Four Japanese players today declared themselves unrestricted free agents—with a desire to play next year in the US. One of these was
Seibu Lions shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima, a 30-year old 11-year veteran of Japan's Pacific League. He owns a career .310 batting average with an OPB of .381. Back in 2011, the Evil Ones posted the winning bid on Nakajima, but the sides did
not to reach an agreement
. The Red Sox have talked about a 2013 strategy in which they bring in a veteran to play shortstop (which would be the 485th at the position since the departure of Nomar), while they continue to evaluate the long-term readiness of
Jose Iglesias. If this is the case, Nakajima might be an interesting mid-term fix—and probably a better bet than
Stephen Drew,
Jason Bartlett, or
Yuniesky Betancourt. The D'Backs and A's also have expressed interest in Nakajima—and the Pinstriped Posers might re-visit their desire for two-time Gold Glover. Boston should take a serious look at him.
