Former Yokohama BayStars right-hander Takashi Saito on Wednesday moved a step closer to realizing his dream of playing in the majors after signing a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 35-year-old Saito inked the deal a day earlier with an invitation to attend major league spring training and is intent on making the opening-day roster.
"The Dodgers have opened the door for me to take the first step toward my dream," Saito said. "This will be a good experience for me as a baseball player. It will be a challenge from this point and I hope to produce," he said, referring to his chance of being called up to the majors based on a strong spring training performance.
Saito explained that the Dodgers provide him with one of the best possible environments to focus on baseball as his reason for signing with the National League club.
He will remain in the United States and travel to the team's training camp in Vero Beach, Florida, this Sunday before participating in major league spring training as an invitee from Wednesday next week.
Saito left the BayStars after posting a 3-4 record with a 3.82 ERA in 21 games in 2005, the last season of his three-year contract with the Central League club.
Saito began his career in 1992 with the Taiyo Whales, the forerunner of the BayStars, as their first-round draft pick and has compiled an 87-80 record with 48 saves and a 3.80 ERA in 339 games.
In 1998, Saito helped Yokohama win its first Central League and Japan Series titles in 38 years, posting a solid 13-5 record with one save and a 2.94 ERA.