Daisuke Matsuzaka agreed to a six-year contrat with the Red Sox

Matsuzaka signed a six year contract with the Boston Red Sox worth $52 million Wednesday afternoon. The pitcher has high expectations from the Red Sox; scouts from the organization seen Daisuke play dozens of times; they say, "He has plus stuff across the board" and a 96 mph fastball that tops off his arsenal. While Boston is optimistic for this import, Matsuzaka is not the most major-league ready player to come out of Japan. On the other hand, Daisuke arrived in Japanese professional baseball like LeBron James did in the NBA. It will be interesting on how Daisuke Matsuzaka will impact the Boston Red Sox next season.

Matsuzaka possible to play for Red Sox

Matsuzaka may be able to play for the Red Sox as early as next season. The star pitcher for Seibu Lions reportedly is flying to Boston, a good sign that both Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Red Sox have reached an agreement. An official with knowledge of the negotiations said, "You should assume a deal is close or done."

A few days prior, Scott Boras would not allow Matsuzaka to take a physical unless both the pitcher and Boston had reached a preliminary agreement. The MLB team has a deadline of midnight Thursday to reach an agreement.

The Red Sox bid $51.1 million last month for the rights to negotiate with Matsuzaka. If Matsuzaka and Boston reaches a deal, the bid will be paid to the Seibu Lions of Japan. If they do not reach a deal, Matsuzaka will not be eligible until he becomes a free agent next November.