Seibu Lions free agent pitcher Takayuki Kishi said Thursday he is going to join the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, a move that will take him back to his hometown of Sendai.
Kishi met with Seibu senior director Hisanobu Watanabe and other officials the same day to convey his intention.
He recently filed for free agency and negotiated with the Eagles. "Sendai is where I was born and raised and where I started playing baseball so I am really happy that (the Eagles) have told me that they need me," Kishi said recently.
Lions general manager Haruhiko Suzuki had indicated the Pacific League club would not engage in a bidding war to re-sign the 31-year-old.
The right-hander, who turned pro after university, choosing to join the Lions ahead of the 2006 draft, has a 103-65 career record, was the MVP of the 2008 Japan Series and threw a no-hitter in 2014.
However, over the past two seasons Kishi has posted a 14-13 record and worked just 240⅔ innings. This year was the final season of his three-year contract.
