The San Francisco Giants have signed right-handed pitcher Shun Yamaguchi to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training, the club announced Saturday.
The 33-year-old became a free agent after being released from a two-year contract by the AL East's Toronto Blue Jays on Feb. 12.
He can make his case for a roster spot with the Giants in the NL West from the start of spring training later this month.
The first player ever posted by the tradition-bound Yomiuri Giants of Japan's Central League, Yamaguchi struggled in his first big league season last year as a relief pitcher for Toronto.
He was left out of the Blue Jays lineup in the playoffs after recording two wins and four losses over 17 games with an ERA of 8.06 in the shortened regular season. He gave up 28 hits and 17 walks in 25⅔ innings, striking out 26.
Yamaguchi has played 427 Nippon Professional Baseball games over 14 seasons with Yomiuri and the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, posting a 64-58 record and a 3.35 ERA.