The Fukuoka Softbank Hawks said Sunday two-time Sawamura Award winning pitcher Kazumi Saito will undergo surgery to repair a damaged rotator cuff in his right shoulder at a Chiba hospital on Tuesday.
Saito had the second shoulder surgery of his career in January 2008 but has been unable to return to the mound, leaving the team without a big piece in the rotation the past two seasons.
Last fall he was found to have problems with his rotator cuff.
"I've concluded that my shoulder will not get any better just through rehabilitation," the 32-year-old said in a statement.
Saito won the Sawamura Award, the Japanese equivalent of the major league Cy Young Award, in 2003 and 2006.
In 2006, he led the Pacific League with 18 wins, a 1.75 ERA, 205 strikeouts and a .783 winning percentage, leaving then-Seibu Lions ace Daisuke Matsuzaka in second in all those categories.