ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—The Tampa Bay Rays have signed free agent third baseman/outfielder Yoshitomo Tsutsugo (yo-shee-toe-moe tsoo-TSOO-go) to a two-year, $12 million contract. He will wear No. 25.

Tsutsugo, 28, spent 10 seasons with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball Organization (NPB), batting .285/.382/.528 (977-for-3,426) with 195 doubles, 205 home runs and 613 RBI over 968 games and 4,000 plate appearances. He has hit at least 20 home runs in six consecutive seasons, including a league-leading 44 home runs in 2016 and 38 home runs in 2018, which tied for fourth in NPB. Over the last four seasons, he leads NPB with 139 home runs, batting .293/.401/.574 (566-for-1,931) over that stretch while ranking among league leaders with 116 doubles (tied for sixth), 372 RBI (third) and a 6.61 PA/BB ratio (fifth). The left-handed batter appeared in 131 games for Yokohama last season, batting .272/.388/.511 (126-for-464) with 24 doubles, 29 home runs, 79 RBI and 88 walks.

Tsutsugo debuted for Yokohama in 2010 as an 18-year-old and became the youngest player in team history to reach 100 home runs (August 5, 2016) and 200 home runs (August 17, 2019). He entered the NPB record books on July 22, 2016, becoming the first player in league history with three straight multi-homer games. Tsutsugo played for Team Japan in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, batting .320 (8-for-25) with three home runs to earn Pool B Most Valuable Player honors.

When he makes his Rays debut, Tsutsugo will become the fourth Japanese-born player in franchise history, following right-handed pitcher Hideo Nomo (2005), infielder Akinori Iwamura (2007-09) and outfielder Hideki Matsui (2012). Iwamura is the only other Japanese-born player to begin his major league career with the Rays. He signed a three-year contract with Tampa Bay after playing three seasons with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.