Japanese right-hander Tomokazu Ohka was acquired from the Washington Nationals in exchange for infielder Junior Spivey, the Milwaukee Brewers said Friday.
The 29-year-old Ohka, who was scheduled to start against the Seattle Mariners the same day, is expected to join his new teammates in Philadelphia on Saturday and possibly fill a rotation spot before the Brewers' three-game series against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays away which starts Monday.
"It's not the first time this has happened to me, so I'm not panicking. It's not like my job is going to change," said Ohka, who received the news from Nationals general manager Jim Bowden over the phone before he left for the ballpark on Friday.
"Every team is in its own situation so I don't know what I'll be doing for the new team, but I personally want to be a starter. I want to throw as much as possible," he said.
Ohka played three seasons for the Boston Red Sox from 1999 before he moved to the Montreal Expos in the middle of the 2001 season. He is 4-3 in 10 games, including nine starts, this season with a 3.33 ERA.
Earlier this month, the former Yokohama BayStars pitcher was fined an undisclosed amount by the Nationals for turning his back and showing disrespect to the manager, who approached the mound to remove him from the game in the fourth inning.
Ohka holds a 37-46 career record in the major leagues with a 3.88 ERA in 134 games since he left Japan and signed a minor-league deal with the Red Sox in the 1998 off-season.