Veteran left-hander Kimiyasu Kudo signed a contract with the Yokohama BayStars on Friday for an estimated annual salary of 90 million yen, plus performance escalators.
Yokohama acquired the 43-year-old Kudo from the Yomiuri Giants as compensation for losing free agent right-hander Ken Kadokura to the Central League rivals, who paid Kudo 290 million yen last year.
Kudo suffered problems with his pitching shoulder last year and went 3-2 with a 4.50 ERA in just 13 starts, but has posted a 215-129 record with three saves and a 3.38 ERA over 25 years.