Masao Kida said Tuesday he will have a tryout for the Chicago Cubs on Friday after the Japanese right-hander asked the National League club to push back his scheduled pitching trial by three days.
The Cubs had accepted Kida's request for the rescheduling of the tryout, in which he will throw 15 pitches each in five different situations in a simulated game at the team's spring training site in Arizona.
"There are no Japanese clubs wanting to hire new players around this time of year. But the major leagues provide such an opportunity and this is a very important occasion in my career," Kida said.