:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/52316501/usa_today_9541137.0.jpeg)
The Marlins have signed reliever Junichi Tazawa to a 2-year, $12 million contract, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. The deal will pay Tazawa $5 million in 2017 and $7 million in 2018, according to a major-league source.
Miami has been aggressively looking for bullpen help all winter, having made aggressive offers to top closers Kenley Jansen and Aroldis Chapman before each signed elsewhere. The club is still expected to make an effort to sign an additional reliever and could be focused on Brad Ziegler, according to league sources.
Tazawa, 30, has spent his entire 7-year major-league career with the Red Sox, posting a lifetime 3.58 ERA in that span. He posted a career-low 4.17 ERA in 49.2 innings with Boston last season, but has been a consistently dependable late-inning option throughout his career.
Tazawa joins A.J. Ramos, Kyle Barraclough and David Phelps in the back-end of a bullpen mix that could still see more changes before Opening Day. Tazawa is the second key Red Sox reliever to depart Boston this week, joining new Cubs signee Koji Uehara.