Haruki

Nishikawa

The 28-year-old outfielder was posted by the Hokkaide Nippon Ham Fighters and negotiated with several interested MLB teams, but ultimately was unable to reach an agreement prior to Saturday afternoon’s deadline. He’ll return to the Ham Fighters where he slashed .306/.430/.396 with five long balls and 42 swipes during an impressive 2020 season.

It’s unclear whether any of those interested clubs went as far as to submit an offer for the 28-year-old outfielder, who was posted by the Hokkaide Nippoon Ham Fighters. Saturday marks the final day of the 30-day window for MLB teams to work out an agreement with Nishikawa, so we should know before the end of the day whether or not he’ll be making the jump to Major League Baseball in 2021. Nishikawa hit .306/.430/.396 with five homers and 42 stolen bases during the 2020 season with the Ham Fighters.

The 28-year-old batted .306/.430/.396 with five home runs and 42 stolen bases for the Fighters in 2020 and is a career .286/.382/.394 hitter over nine seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball. Nishikawa lacks power, but he draws walks and has picked up three stolen base titles and three Gold Gloves in Japan. He might ultimately profile as more of a fourth outfielder, but there should be some interest from major league clubs.