Tazawa signed a contract with an independent team in Japan on Monday, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.
Tazawa has spent parts of nine seasons in the majors, but he spent the entire 2019 campaign in the minors. He spent time in the Reds' minor-league camp over the offseason, but he was unable to secure a spot within the organization and was released by Cincinnati in March. The 34-year-old will look to further his career with an independent league in Japan, potentially because of the rules regarding signing with an NPB team. Given his age and downturn in results, his MLB days could be over.
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Junichi Tazawa: Released by Reds
Rotowire
Tazawa was released by the Reds on Thursday, Andersen Pickard of MLB Daily Dish reports.
The veteran righty has spent parts of nine seasons in the big leagues, though the entirety of his 2019 campaign was spent at the Triple-A level with the Cubs and Reds. He owns a respectable 4.12 career ERA, but he hasn't recorded an ERA below 5.69 since 2016.
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Reds' Junichi Tazawa: Pitching at Triple-A again
Rotowire
Tazawa (undisclosed) debuted at Triple-A Louisville over the weekend and has made two appearances for the affiliate, covering three scoreless innings.
Tazawa agreed to a minor-league pact with the Reds on Aug. 11 and reported to the Reds' rookie-level Arizona League affiliate while he was on the mend from the unspecified injury. His appearances with Louisville indicate that he's healthy again, but Tazawa may have returned too late to have a realistic chance at earning a callup to the Reds in September.
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Reds' Junichi Tazawa: Rehabbing in rookie ball
Rotowire
Tazawa (undisclosed) began a rehab assignment with the Reds' rookie-level Arizona League affiliate, retiring two of the six batters he faced and giving up three runs (two earned) on two hits.
Tazawa signed a minor-league deal with Cincinnati on Aug. 11 but hadn't made his organizational debut until this week while tending to the unspecified injury. With the minor-league season nearing its end, Tazawa probably won't have enough time to prove his health and make a serious run at earning a September callup.
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Reds' Junichi Tazawa: Inks minors deal with Reds
Rotowire
Tazawa signed a minor-league deal with the Reds, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.
He was assigned to Double-A Chattanooga and will begin on the injured list with an undisclosed injury, perhaps in order to give him time to get up to speed before he pitches in games. He had a 4.00 ERA in 19 appearances out of the bullpen with Triple-A Iowa prior to being released by the Cubs.
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Junichi Tazawa: Parts ways with Cubs
Rotowire
Tazawa was released by the Cubs on Thursday, Iowa Cubs broadcaster Alex Cohen reports.
Tazawa was released after failing to make the Opening Day roster out of spring training, but he quickly re-signed with the team on a reworked minor-league deal, only to be cut loose again. The 33-year-old has a 4.00 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 17:6 K:BB over 18 innings at Triple-A this season.
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Cubs' Junichi Tazawa: Winds up back with Cubs
Rotowire
Tazawa signed with the Cubs on Tuesday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.
The veteran agreed to a minor-league deal but will make up to $900,000 in the majors, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports. Tazawa was released by the team Saturday after failing to win a bullpen spot, but the Cubs evidently liked him enough to keep him around as injury insurance.
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Junichi Tazawa: Time in Chicago ends
Rotowire
The Cubs released Tazawa on Saturday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
Though Tazawa failed to win a spot in the Cubs' bullpen, he could attract interest elsewhere around the league after turning in a dominant spring. Over 5.2 innings of Cactus League action, the 32-year-old righty gave up no runs and just two hits while striking out nine.
Tazawa's arrival at Cubs camp has been delayed due to visa issues, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.
The lost practice time won't help Tazawa make his case for an Opening Day roster spot, but his absence is unlikely to be a long one. He's expected to join the Cubs on Monday.
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Cubs' Junichi Tazawa: Catches on with Cubs
Rotowire
Tazawa agreed Saturday with the Cubs on a minor-league contract, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.
The deal likely includes an invitation to big-league spring training, where Tazawa will have a chance to stake his claim to a spot in the Cubs' Opening Day bullpen. Tazawa has had limited success at the major-league level the past two seasons across stints with the Marlins, Tigers and Angels, compiling a 6.16 ERA and 7.1 K/9 over 83.1 innings.
Tazawa was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on Saturday, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.
Tazawa signed a minor-league deal with the Angels in mid-July and returns to the majors due to September expanded rosters. The 32-year-old allowed 21 runs (20 earned) over 20 innings before he was designated for assignment and subsequently released by the Marlins in late May.
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Angels' Junichi Tazawa: Inks minor-league deal with Angels
Rotowire
Tazawa signed a minor-league contract with the Angels on Friday, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times reports.
Tazawa was let go by the Tigers on Monday. He sits with a 9.00 ERA and 2.05 WHIP with 24 strikeouts over 20 innings in the big leagues this season, and he'll report to the Angels' spring training facility in Arizona, per Hernandez.
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Junichi Tazawa: Released by Tigers
Rotowire
Tazawa was released by the Tigers on Monday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
He was with the Tigers for a little over a month, giving up eight runs in 7.2 innings at Triple-A. Tazawa has a 4.16 ERA in 387.1 MLB innings, but has not been a serviceable big-league reliever since 2015 with the Red Sox.
Tigers' Junichi Tazawa: Links up with Tigers on minors deal
Rotowire
Tazawa signed a minor-league contract with the Tigers on Monday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
Tazawa was cut loose by the Marlins earlier in the year after struggling to a 9.00 ERA, 2.10 WHIP and 5.9 BB/9 across 20 innings. He did strike out 24 batters over those frames, and owns a career 4.16 ERA across 387.1 big-league innings, so the veteran reliever should be able to work his way to the Tigers' bullpen after some time in the minors, assuming he holds his own.
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Junichi Tazawa: Released by Miami
Rotowire
Tazawa was released by the Marlins on Wednesday, Matthew DeFranks of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.
Tazawa was designated for assignment May 17, and he'll look to catch on elsewhere after his departure from the Marlins. He failed to show much consistency out of the bullpen through 22 games, posting an alarming 9.00 ERA with 13 walks across 20 innings.
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Marlins' Junichi Tazawa: Designated for assignment
Rotowire
Tazawa was designated for assignment by Miami on Thursday, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.
Tazawa had appeared in 22 games this season, posting an unsightly 9.00 ERA and 2.05 WHIP over 20 innings of relief. In the past two days, he's given up six earned runs in just 1.1 innings against the Dodgers and was immediately cast off the 40-man roster following Thursday's outing. He will be subject to waivers but will report to Triple-A New Orleans if unclaimed by another organization.
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Marlins' Junichi Tazawa: Blitzed by Brewers on Thursday
Rotowire
Tazawa surrendered six runs on four hits -- including two home runs -- and two walks over 0.2 innings of relief while striking out one in Thursday's loss to the Brewers.
The right-hander came into the game with a 1.69 ERA, but Thursday's disaster inflated it to 6.35. As has been the issue for Tazawa for the last couple of seasons, he's having trouble keeping the ball in the park, serving up four homers in 11.1 innings. Declining fastball velocity isn't helping in that department, either -- he was unable to touch 92 mph in Thursday's outing, and his 91.3 mph average so far this season would be his lowest mark since his first brief taste of the majors in 2009. Despite a strong 11.1 K/9 at the moment, Tazawa's fantasy outlook for the remainder of 2018 looks bleak.
