Seibu Lions right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka agreed Tuesday to a one-year deal carrying a 140 million yen salary, up 40 million yen from this year.
Matsuzaka, who posted 15 wins for the Pacific League club this past season to grab the PL title for most wins for the third straight year, threw 12 complete games and pitched 240 1/3 innings -- the most in both leagues.
"It was a little off from my ideal amount, but I think I was rewarded for a lot of the good aspects of my pitching. Last year and the year before, I was unable to stay in the rotation all year round because of injuries, but I did that this year," Matsuzaka said.
In 2001, Matsuzaka went 15-15 with a league-high 214 strikeouts, 117 walks and a 3.60 ERA in 33 games.