Japanese closer Kyuji Fujikawa visited with five MLB teams this past weekend, and he appears to be moving quickly through the free agent process. Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker (Twitter link) translates a Nikkan Sports piece that reports Fujikawa has offers from 10 Major League clubs and has narrowed his decision process to five teams.
Fujikawa has reportedly met with the Dodgers, Angels, Orioles, Cubs and Diamondbacks. The Rangers are also said to have interest in the 32-year-old, who has been Japan's best closer for the past several years. He is reportedly looking for a multiyear deal on his first foray into Major League Baseball. Because he is a free agent, interested teams are not required to go through the posting process with Fujikawa.
Fujikawa has only posted an ERA higher than 1.63 once since 2007. Over the past six seasons with the Hanshin Tigers, he has 202 saves to go along with an eye-popping 1.36 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 12.4 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 369 2/3 innings. In that time, he's allowed just 18 home runs.
