TOKYO (AP) Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka was honored for his fielding on Thursday when he received his third straight Golden Glove award.
Tanaka, a 25-year-old right-hander, went a 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA during the regular season and helped the Rakuten Eagles win the Japan Series.
His expected move to the U.S. this off-season has been delayed as Major League Baseball and Japan attempt to negotiate a new transfer system.
Under the so-called "posting system," agreed to in December 1998 by MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball, more than a dozen Japanese players have moved to the majors before the nine years of service needed to become free agents.
MLB withdrew its proposal for a new system earlier this month, saying Japanese officials did not respond quickly enough to new proposals.
