Yankees.com reported this afternoon that the Yankees have inked a minor league deal with former Red Sox reliever,
Hideki Okajima.
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| Getty Images |
The 36 year-old lefty spent most of last season playing for Boston's Triple-A affiliate in Pawtucket where he posted a 2.29 ERA in 34 appearances. He played only seven games in Boston, and pitched to a 4.32 ERA. Okajima's production took a slide starting in 2010, where in 56 games, he pitched to a 4.50 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 56 games; a major drop from his stellar 3.39 ERA, 53 strikeout, 68 game '09 season.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman is looking at Okajima becoming a lefty specialist for the team. In his 5 seasons with the Red Sox, he held lefty batters to a .218 average.
"He's somebody that definitely can get left-handers out," said Cashman. "We'll see what it looks like when we get to Spring Training."
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