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Cubs, left-handed pitcher Tsuyoshi Wada agree to terms on 2015 contract

CHICAGO - The Chicago Cubs and left-handed pitcher Tsuyoshi Wada today agreed to terms on a 2015 major league contract. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Wada, 33, went 4-4 with a 3.25 ERA (25 ER/69.1 IP) in 13 starts for the Cubs last season, the first major league action of his professional career. The southpaw signed a minor league deal with the Cubs last offseason and began the year with Triple-A Iowa, where he went 10-6 with a 2.77 ERA (35 ER/113.2 IP) in 19 appearances (18 starts) en route to earning Pacific Coast League All-Star honors. Wada became a fixture in the Cubs rotation in late July and spent the remainder of the season in the big leagues.

Following a nine-year career with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in the Japan Pacific League, Wada signed a two-year major league deal with Baltimore in December of 2011. He suffered an elbow injury during Spring Training of 2012 that led to Tommy John ligament replacement surgery in May. He returned to action in June of 2013, and made 19 starts for Triple-A Norfolk that season, going 5-6 with a 4.03 ERA (46 ER/102.2 IP).

Wada went 107-61 with a 3.13 ERA (503 ER/1,444.2 IP) in 210 games, all but three as a starter, for Fukuoka from 2003-11, striking out 1,329 batters while walking just 395. He recorded 36 complete games, including eight shutouts, and was named the league's Most Valuable Player in 2010, a season in which he was 17-8 with a 3.14 ERA (59 ER/169.1 IP) in 26 starts.

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