PAWTUCKET -- Hideki Okajima has no idea what the future holds.

"I don't know what I'm going to be doing next season," Okajima said through interpreter Jeff Cutler before the regular-season finale at Triple-A Pawtucket. "I might retire. I might go back to Japan. I might be over here again. I'm not really sure. I just have to see where the offseason takes me once I get there."

It's been a strange year for Okajima, not too long ago the primary setup reliever in front of Jonathan Papelbon for the Red Sox. He started the season with the PawSox and, after making seven appearances in the major leagues after his call-up in mid-April, he was designated for assignment and outrighted back to Pawtucket.

"I didn't expect to be in this situation, but this is reality," he said. "I am here. It's obviously very disappointing to be in this situation in this point in the year, but this is reality and this is where I belong right now. I've accepted that fact and just have to rethink how I approach the game so I can be where I want to be next season."

The Red Sox have gone through a half-dozen lefty relievers since getting rid of Okajima, and they've never shown any inclination toward bringing him back.

That, to Okajima, was not a surprise.

"I never expected to return back to Boston after being taken off the 40-man (roster) and being designated for assignment," he said. "I saw myself pitching for a different team and not being in this situation."

Had the Red Sox been able to find a trade partner for him, it stands to reason, they'd have made a move. The 35-year-old lefty instead has plied his trade for Pawtucket since before Memorial Day and will do so through the end of the International League playoffs.

If he never throws another pitch in the major leagues, he'll walk away with a 3.11 career ERA and 215 strikeouts in 246 1/3 innings pitched.

Okajima has a 2.29 ERA and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 5.33 in 51 innings pitched for Triple-A Pawtucket this season, including three strikeouts in two scoreless innings on Sunday against Rochester. Lefties are hitting .190 with a .222 on-base percentage against him, and righties are hitting .220 with a .254 on-base percentage against him.

He's hardly used the cutter he talked in spring training about wanting to work into his repertoire, especially against righties. His command of his fastball, his curveball and his splitter has been good enough he hasn't needed it.

"Even regarding my fastball, I wasn't really throwing it at 100 percent," he said. "I was more focusing on location and trying to make sure I could get the corners, and that has worked really well. Working on my mechanics has really led to the results that I have. ...

"At the very least, I know it works against hitters down here in the minor leagues."

But Okajima knows as well as anyone that mowing down minor-league hitters doesn't necessarily mean he can still mow down major-league hitters. He'll find out this winter whether major-league teams still believe he can help them get outs.

In the meantime, he'll enjoy the ride as one of the primary late-inning relievers for the playoff-bound PawSox.

"Even within my baseball career, I never expected to be in a playoff race down here," he said. "It's been enjoyable, and I try to look at it in a way that every game is my last game, every outing is my last outing, and enjoy it as much as possible."

Twitter: @brianmacp