ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Yuki Matsui's name has been linked to the St. Louis Cardinals since the off-season began and he reportedly seems interested in joining the team.
According to MLB.com executive reporter Mark Feinsand, Matsui reportedly visited the Cardinals Thursday.
Matsui, who has played his entire career with the Rakuten Golden Eagles, is a five-time Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star and has saved 236 games over his career overseas.
In his career, he has pitched a career 2.40 ERA and last season he pitched 1.57 ERA in 57.1 innings and saved 39 games. Obviously the production in Japan isn't apples to oranges to production in Major League Baseball, and highly likely he won't be as dominant as he was in Japan if he were to transition to Major League Baseball.
The Cardinals have made it no secret that they seek some help in the bullpen after blowing the second-most saves in the National League last year. The Cardinals already made some additions to the bullpen, picking right handed pitcher Ryan Fernandez in the Rule 5 draft and acquiring Nick Robertson in a trade that sent Tyler O'Neill to the Boston Red Sox.
Matsui is projected to get a two-year deal worth $14 million according to MLB Trade Rumors, so he would be a inexpensive bullpen option if the Cardinals were to get him. With his career as a late inning option in Japan, he would no serve be a viable option in late game situations if Ryan Helsley, Giovanny Gallegos or JoJo Romero were unavailable.
Unlike fellow Japanese pitchers Shota Imanaga and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, signing Matsui wouldn't require an MLB team to pay a compensation or a posting fee to the Eagles because Matsui surpassed the requisite nine year service threshold to reach international free agency.