CHICAGO, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- The Chicago Cubs said Wednesday they have signed star Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fukudome to a four-year contract worth an estimated $48 million.
The Cubs beat out San Diego, which reportedly offered a three-year deal worth more than $30 million, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Fukudome, a 30-year-old right-fielder with Japan's Chunichi Dragons who also had been sought by the Chicago White Sox, suffered a season-ending elbow injury in August. He had surgery and missed the final two months of the Dragons' championship season.
The Tribune said Fukudome gives the Cubs their first right-fielder with a left-handed bat with power since the Sammy Sosa era. Fukudome could play either right or center and help the Cubs contend for their first World Series championship in a century.
