Rangers Agree to Deal With Fujikawa

Here's that mystery signing of a right-handed reliever Jon Daniels spoke of at the MLB Winter Meetings last week.

The Texas Rangers have reportedly agreed to terms with former Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Kyuji Fujikawa on a one-year deal worth $1 million plus incentives, so basically a really low-risk deal for a guy who, if healthy, could end up being a big boost to what is shaping up to be a pretty strong bullpen. The deal was first reported by CBS Sports' Jon Heyman.

Fujikawa was a dominant relief pitcher in Japan before signing with the Cubs for a two-year deal that only saw him pitch 25 innings in the big leagues over the two seasons thanks to Tommy John surgery. In those 25 innings, he struck out 31 batters and walked just eight.

Remember Neal Cotts' signing? He hadn't pitched in the bigs for four years and was basically left for dead before Daniels brought him in on a similar deal and watched him throw up a 1.11 ERA in his first season with the club before he fell off in 2014.

Now, he's hoping he can find that same lightning in a bottle in Fujikawa.

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