The Cleveland Indians have granted right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka's request for his unconditional release, the team has announced.
Indians grant Daisuke Matsuzaka his unconditional release
After four-plus months without a call-up, Dice-K asked Cleveland to let him try his hand with another club.
Christian Petersen
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Matsuzaka, 32, signed a minor-league deal with the Tribe in February and was one of several pitchers vying for a rotation spot during spring training. The right-hander didn’t make the cut on Opening Day, but it seemed likely he would have at least the opportunity to make a few starts for Cleveland, so he reworked his contract at the end of March to stick around at Triple-A.
The Indians dealt with a series of rotation woes through the first several months of the year -- and have used nine starters overall this season -- but Dice-K was never the one to get the call when the team needed a spot starter.
The veteran pitched well at Triple-A Columbus -- posting a 3.92 earned-run average while fanning nearly a batter per inning in 103⅓ innings -- so it seems likely that he’ll end up signing with another club before too long.
Prior to this season, Matsuzaka had spent his entire MLB career with the Red Sox. When his tumultuous and injury-plagued tenure in Boston ended last fall, he had accrued a 4.52 ERA in just over 650 innings for the club.
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