Former Seibu Lions right-hander Katsuhiro Maeda signed Tuesday a deal worth an estimated 4,000 yuan per month (about 52,000 yen) to play for the Shanghai Eagles starting this season, baseball sources said Wednesday.
Maeda will be the first Japanese ever to play in the China Baseball League (CBL) when he debuts in the season opener April 2.
Maeda will earn about 12,000 yuan (156,000 yen yen) as the season runs for only about three months till June.