Kazuhiro Sasaki, who left the Seattle Mariners with one year remaining on his contract, on Monday decided to make his comeback to the Japanese baseball scene with the Yokohama BayStars of the Central League, for whom he played from 1990 to 1999.
According to baseball sources, Sasaki is set to sign a two-year deal carrying an annual salary of 500 million yen -- the same figure the right-hander made with the BayStars in 1999 -- and will be officially introduced at a news conference on Tuesday.
Earlier Monday, he turned down an offer from the Nippon Ham Fighters apparently because his priority lies in spending time with his family and the Pacific League club just moved its home from Tokyo to the northern city of Sapporo.
The 35-year-old walked away from an $8.5 million deal (about 900 million yen) by forfeiting the second year of a two-contract and asked the Mariners to put him on waivers late last month.
Once granted his unconditional release, the BayStars were one of the first teams to show interest in acquiring his services.
Sasaki joined the Mariners on a free-agent deal in 2000, when he was named American League Rookie of the Year, and posted a franchise-record 129 saves over the last four years. He pitched in two All-Star games in the majors.
In Japan, the BayStars' 1990 top draft pick held the national record of 229 career saves until it was broken by Shingo Takatsu last April. He is now second on the all-time list.
Last season, Sasaki made two trips to the disabled list due to shoulder, back and rib injuries and was limited to two wins, one loss and 10 saves in 35 games.