NEW YORK -- Kevin Youkilis is leaving the major leagues after an injury plagued season and heading to Japan. Virgil van Dijk Jersey . The three-time All-Star has agreed to a one-year contract with the Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japans Pacific League. "They made it very apparent right from the start they were quite interested in Kevin being there," agent Joe Bick said Friday. A 34-year-old first baseman and third baseman, Youkilis will have a $4 million base salary and can earn $1 million in bonuses -- including some based on walks, a provision not allowed in major league contracts. After nine seasons with the Boston Red Sox, Youkilis signed a $12 million, one-year deal with the New York Yankees. But his back started to bother him in mid-April, and an epidural injection didnt improve a lumbar spine sprain. Sidelined from April 27 to May 31, he went back on the DL on June 13, had surgery a week later to repair a herniated disk and didnt return. Youkilis hit just .219 with two homers and eight RBIs over 28 games and 105 at-bats. "Theres no reason to believe hes anything less than 100 per cent," Bick said. "Workouts are going normally." Youkilis has a .281 average in 10 big league seasons with 150 homers and 618 RBIs, and he earned a World Series ring with the 2007 Red Sox. At Rakuten, Youkilis may become teammates with star pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, who went 24-0 last season, While Tanaka wants to join the major leagues, Rakuten is reluctant to make him available in the new posting season, and the 25-year-old right-hander cant leave as a free agent until after the 2015 season. "We were talking with eight or nine other clubs over here," Bick said. "In the final analysis, he said the right thing for my family and me is to go do this. It will be a wonderful life experience." Marco van Ginkel Jersey . Jose Bautista homered for the fifth straight game in the sixth inning, following a two-out solo homer by Melky Cabrera. Edwin Encarnacion led off the seventh with a homer to tie the game 3-3 and, with two out in the seventh, Munenori Kawasaki came through with the two-out single to score pinch-runner Steve Tolleson with what proved to be the winning run. Custom Netherlands Jerseys . Never caused problems. Never raised a ruckus. Never got sick or hurt while frolicking in the fields of Claiborne Farm in Paris, Ky. http://www.soccernetherlandsshop.us/Kenneth-Vermeer-Netherland-Jersey/ . -- Phil Mickelson will be watching the final two rounds of the Masters from home for the first time in 17 years.A very sobering realization faced the traveling Vancouver Whitecaps supporters as they left Providence Park on Saturday - their team probably isnt good enough to make the playoffs this season. Mathematics would suggest otherwise, but if the benchmark comparison and the prime adversary is the Portland Timbers, then back-to-back 3-0 losses should say everything about the Caps chances. Despite showing energy and endeavour in the first 20 minutes, there was, once again, no final product. And then, when Carl Robinsons young team lost concentration in the 28th-minute, a series of three mistakes turned into a Diego Valeri goal and the sinking feeling that there was no coming back. All those well publicized preseason fears have fully manifested themselves. Who would score the goals, and where was the MLS experience? The freewheeling open games prior to the World Cup may have yielded goals chances and points, but once the dog days of summer rolled around when games became more meaningful, the Whitecaps simply dont have enough savvy to navigate a tough conference with teams boasting far more MLS moxy. A look at the standings says everything you need to know about the value of MLS experience. The teams at the top added bona fide veterans of the North American game. Seattle brought in Chad Marshall, Kenny Cooper, Chad Barrett, Stefan Frei and Marco Pappa. DC United acquired Eddie Johnson, Bobby Boswell, Jeff Parke and Chris Rolfe. The triumphant Timbers have more experience among Will Johnson, Donovan Ricketts and Diego Chara than the entirety of the Whitecaps team on Saturday. A familiarity of the MLS game does matter. It reflects how one prepares and trains and why concentration over 90-minute stretches in a grueling marathon decides the winner. Whitecaps fans arent going to want to hear this, but the only way you get those meaningful minutes is either by acquiring it or being patient. Bruce Arena gathered those players when he took over the last place Los Angeles Galaxy in 2008. Tim Krul Jersey. Peter Vermes built it when becoming interm coach of the Kansas City Wizards in 2009. And Jason Kreis/Garth Lagerwey pretty much set the standard of club building when Real Salt Lake entered the league in 2005. When the Seattle Sounders joined MLS, they hired Sigi Schmidt for his understanding of the league. He quickly dotted his lineup with pros like Marshall, Brad Evans and Nathan Sturgis. At the opposite end of the club-building spectrum are the two teams that met on Sunday, Toronto FC and Chivas USA - two franchises that have been plagued by lack of vision, constant change, and no stable, long-term servants to act as a core to build around. As difficult as it is for fans to accept, this was, in fact, year one of a rebuild. Nobody wants to hear that, but its the cold hard truth. After four years in the league, supporters will have expected more growth by this point. But now is not the time for the club to worry about what the media and the fans are saying. They need to stick to a plan. That means staying the course with a promising residency program which will hopefully supplant the diminishing quality of the US College draft. It also means scouring the globe for hungry young players with value and upside. But ultimately, it means identifying within the current squad, a group of players to build around over the long term. Because until that group amasses some significant game equity, well continue to see lapses like the ones on Saturday. That job falls on the shoulders of Carl Robinson. A full year of working with his group should provide all the data he needs to move forward. Many dejected supporters Saturday wondered how the Whitecaps season could have gone south so quickly, but, perhaps, the better question is how did they even manage to get as far as they have, given the age and ability of a team lacking so much MLS wisdom? Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Discount NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys 2018 Cheap Jerseys 2018 Discount NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys From China Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping ' ' '