Kyuji Fujikawa placed on unconditional release waivers

Kyuji Fujikawa, the righthanded reliever who was designated for assignment last week, has been placed on unconditional release waivers by the Texas Rangers, according to the beat guys on Twitter.

Fujikawa was signed this past offseason to a one year, $1 million contract with a $2 million club option for 2016.  Obviously, by releasing Fujikawa, the 2016 option becomes moot.  Fujikawa was a successful reliever in Japan prior to joining the Cubs in 2013, but missed the bulk of the 2013 and 2014 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery early in 2013.  The Rangers essentially made a $1 million gamble that Fujikawa would bounce back and be fully recovered from the surgery -- a gamble that ended up not panning out.

Fujikawa will be a free agent once he's released, and will likely either sign a minor league deal with some team, or will return to Japan.

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