Reliever Naoyuki Uwasawa traded to the Boston Red Sox from Tampa Bay Rays for cash
Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Naoyuki Uwasawa, of Japan, walks to the dugout in the fifth inning during a spring training baseball game at Quisqueya Stadium in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Sunday, March 10, 2024. Credit: AP/Ricardo Hernandez
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Reliever Naoyuki Uwasawa was traded to the Boston Red Sox from the Tampa Bay Rays for cash.
Boston selected the contract of Uwasawa to the 40-man roster before Thursday's opener at Tampa Bay, then optioned him to Triple-A Worcester.
Uwasawa had a 13.03 ERA in 9 2/3 innings over four spring training appearances, allowing 14 runs and 15 hits that included three home runs. He walked eight and struck out nine.
The 30-year-old right-hander agreed in January to a $25,000 signing bonus as part of a minor league contract. He gets a $2.5 million salary while in the major leagues and a $225,000 salary while assigned to the minor leagues. He could earn an additional $900,000 in performance bonuses for innings in the major leagues: $100,000 for 80 innings and each additional 10 through 160.
Tampa Bay owed a release fee of $6,250 to the Pacific League’s Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.
Uwasawa was 9-9 with a 2.96 ERA in 24 relief appearances last year and has pitched exclusively out of the bullpen since 2018. Uwasawa is 70-62 with a 3.58 in 50 starts and 123 relief appearances over nine seasons with the Fighters.
