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Rangers sign Japanese reliever Tateyama

Per T.R. Sullivan, the Rangers have signed Japanese righthanded pitcher Yoshinori Tateyama to a major league deal.

Tateyama turns 35 in December, and has pitched his entire career for Hokkaido, mostly as a reliever.

Tateyama is a sidearmer, which means that, like current Ranger reliever Darren O'Day, he'd likely be used primarily as a specialist for just a couple of batters at a time.

This signing is curious.  I'm not sure what the financial terms of the deal are, but it is surprising to me that the Rangers would commit a 40 man roster spot and a major league deal to a guy this old who is an unknown at the major league level.