Hideki Okajima was once a lockdown bullpen option for the Boston Red Sox, but he hasn’t appeared in a Major League Baseball game since 2013. The southpaw reportedly could be making a comeback after spending some time in Japan.
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Okajima Wants to Return to United States
Monday, Dec. 7
Tom Caron of NESN noted Monday that agent Joe Rosen said Okajima would like to return stateside and pitch in the major leagues.
The left-handed bullpen option last appeared in a regular-season game in 2013 with the Oakland Athletics, and he only pitched four innings and allowed a single earned run and seven hits that year. He was at his best as a member of the Boston Red Sox from 2007-11, although his numbers gradually became more concerning the longer he was in the league:
However, he was an All-Star in 2007 and helped Boston win the World Series. Joon Lee of SB Nation reflected on the reliever’s effectiveness at that time:
Okajima pitched in eight postseason games in 2007 and finished with a 2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 11 strikeouts and then followed that up with eight more playoff appearances in 2008, where he posted a 1.80 ERA, 0.60 WHIP and five strikeouts in 10 innings. He was a rock at the back end of the Boston bullpen in his prime and often saved his best for when the games mattered most.
Still, he is 39 years old and has suffered through injuries and a downturn in production in America.
It’s not as if he was away from the game since 2013 considering he pitched in Japan, but it is difficult to envision a major league team offering much more than a minor league deal or a low-risk flier with the hope he can resurrect his form from 2007-08.
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