On this date in 2006, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays signed Japanese 3B Akinori Iwamura to a three year, $7.7M deal with an option for a fourth year.
The Devil Rays had won the rights to negotiate with Iwamura a month prior, by outbidding the San Diego Padres and Cleveland Indians, with a posting fee of $4.5M.
During his time in Japan, Iwamura was a member of the Yakult Swallows and over the years he accrued six Gold Gloves and five All-Star game nominations. He had hit at least 30 HR over the past three seasons leading up this posting and hit .