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The Red Sox may be interested in signing Japanese lefthander Hisanori Takahashi, according to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. MLBTradeRumors.com reports that the Giants and Dodgers are in the lead for his services, but the Red Sox still may hold interest. Four teams (Giants, Dodgers, Red Sox, and Padres) have reportedly offered Takahashi a minor-league deal.

The draw for Takahashi in Boston is obvious: the Sox employ two prominent Japanese pitchers in Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima. The Sox would do their very best to make Takahashi feel at home in Boston, despite its long distance from Japan.

The obvious draws to the other three cities is that they’re on the West Coast, which is three time zones and 3,000 miles closer to his home nation.

It’s good to see the Sox dipping into the international player pool again, as they have plucked some quality finds (like Okajima) seemingly out of nowhere.

About KC Downey

KC is the "head coach" of the Sports of Boston, LLC blog network. Follow him on Twitter: @kc_downey

Tags: Hisanori Takahashi, Japan, Red Sox