It's a three-year contract for Akiyama, who will be returning to Japan, likely for the remainder of his professional career. The 34-year-old outfielder was released from a minor league contract with the Padres earlier this month after spending two seasons with the Reds.

Akiyama said that he didn't receive any offers after being released by the Padres from his minor league contract last week. The 34-year-old outfielder is expected to sign with a team in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, most likely the Seibu Lions, where he spent the first nine years of his career.

Akiyama signed a minor league contract with the Padres back in late April and has missed a chunk of time due to COVID-19 and has played just 16 games at Triple-A El Paso.

It's interesting, that's for sure. There was plenty of reporting that Akiyama was interested in reuniting with the Seibu Lions of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, but instead appears to be giving it another shot in the majors with the Padres. He'll report to Triple-A El Paso and could be in San Diego at some point in the future. The 33-year-old outfielder holds a .224/.320/.274 triple-slash line with zero homers in 366 plate appearances in the majors since 2020.