Veteran pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka to rejoin Lions: source

Daisuke Matsuzaka, who left the Seibu Lions to pitch in the majors 13 years ago, is in line to rejoin the Pacific League club, a source said on Saturday.

The 39-year-old Matsuzaka, who was named the NPB Comeback Player of the Year in 2018, pitched in just two games this year for the Chunichi Dragons and was released. The right-hander has a 114-65 record in Japan, with most of those results coming with the Lions, for whom he pitched from 1999 to 2006. He went 56-43 in the major leagues, mostly with the Boston Red Sox.

Matsuzaka returned to Japan in 2015 with the PL’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, but appeared in just one game with them over the course of his three-year contract. He joined the Central League’s Dragons in 2018, and went 5-4 with a 3.74 ERA in 11 starts.

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