Masahiro Tanaka has gotten most of the attention from those looking at the Rakuten Golden Eagles' roster this season (and deservedly so), but the team's third baseman warrants some consideration as well. Former Major League infielder Casey McGehee has enjoyed a monster season in his first taste of Nippon Pro Baseball and could look to return to the Majors in 2014, writes Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.
McGehee hit .289/.371/.512 with 27 home runs in his first season with the Eagles after signing a one-year deal this past offseason. His agent, Barry Meister, told Nicholson-Smith that McGehee will assess his options after the season and decide whether to continue in Japan or head back to the United States.
The 30-year-old corner infielder is expected to seek a starting job, which might be difficult to come by in the United States, though a non-contending team could certainly look to give him full-time at-bats. McGehee comes with some upside, as he posted an impressive .291/.346/.477 batting line with 39 homers in his first two big league seasons with the Brewers in 2009-10. His production fell off the table from 2011-12, however, as he slashed just .221/.282/.351 between the Brewers, Pirates and Yankees.
McGehee has yet to accumulate six years of MLB service time, which would make him arbitration eligible for any team that signed him as a free agent.
