Redsox.com, quoting two Japanese newspapers, is reporting the Red Sox have won the battle for prized right-hander Junichi Tazawa:

According to . . . [the] Mainichi Daily News and Nikkan Sports . . . Tazawa will reveal by the beginning of next week that he has chosen the Red Sox over the other Major League teams that were interested in his services . . .

Tazawa, 22, attracted scouts' attention while pitching in a Japanese industrial league for amateur players. There's a good chance he'll at least start the 2009 season in the minor leagues.