One of the best outfielders in Japanese baseball, Kosuke Fukudome, has filed for free agency from his team the Chunichi Dragons. The move paves his way to explore the possibility of coming over here to play in MLB.
Fukudome does not have to go through the same posting system that Daisuke Matsuzaka had to because he is a free agent. This will be of benefit to the teams who are interested in signing him because they will not have to pay the Dragons a dime.
Fukudome’s play has been compared to Akinori Iwamura’s and he possesses some power and likes to spray the ball in the gaps.
In his career with the Dragons, he has hit .305 with 192 home runs and 647 RBIs. He projects to hit about .280 with 15-20 homers and 80-100 RBIs. Those numbers are pretty similar to what J.D. Drew projected to this year for the Red Sox.
So who is interested and where does he end up? Only time will tell. The Dragons have offered him a 1-year contract and also a multi-year contract.
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