Free-agent third baseman Casey McGehee, who played for the Pirates and Mets last season after spending 2009-11 with the Milwaukee Brewers, is reportedly headed to Japan.
According to the Japanese site Sankei and MSN Japan, McGehee will sign a one-year deal worth $1.3 million with the Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Nippon Professional Baseball League.
CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reported the deal was worth $1.5 million with "easily attainable" incentives that could push it past $2 million.
Claimed off waivers by the Brewers from the Cubs in October 2008, McGehee burst on the scene in 2009, hitting .301 with 16 home runs and 66 RBI in 116 games. But 2010 was his best season in the big leagues and included a .285 batting average with 23 home runs and 104 RBI.
After not receiving a long-term contract extension from the Brewers that he desired, McGehee dropped off in 2011 with a .223 batting average, 13 home runs and 67 RBI. Milwaukee then traded him to Pittsburgh for reliever Jose Veras following the season.
McGehee could never get it going for the Pirates, hitting just .230 in 92 games, and eventually lost his job and was traded to the Yankees on July 31. McGehee hit just .151 with one home run in 22 games in New York, then was non-tendered earlier this offseason.
The Golden Eagles play in the city of Sendai in the Tohoku region in northern Japan. The area was one of the hardest hit by the tsunami in 2011. The club recently signed former major league outfielder Andruw Jones to a one-year, $3.5 million deal.
