Report: Dodgers back out of Iwakuma deal after failed physical

Hisashi Iwakuma reportedly failed his physical with the Dodgers. (Getty Images) The Los Angeles Dodgers’ already whacky offseason just took another unexpected turn.

Japanese wire service Jiji Press is reporting that the Dodgers are backing out of the three-year, $45 million contract they negotiated with free-agent starting pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma after Iwakuma failed his physical. However, Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times tweets that the Dodgers and Iwakuma could still get a deal done, perhaps with different terms.

“Inaccurate” to say #Dodgers are out on Iwakuma, I’m told. Perhaps they’re reworking the contract?

— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) December 17, 2015

[Elsewhere: Jeff Passan’s ranks and tracks every MLB free agent]

The 34-year-old right-hander was sidelined twice during the 2015 season while pitching for the Seattle Mariners, first due to a strained finger and then because of a strained lat. When he was healthy, though, Iwakuma was effective, posting a 9-5 record and a 3.54 ERA in 20 starts and throwing a no-hitter in mid-August. In four major-league seasons Iwakuma is 47-25 with a 3.17 ERA.

The past few weeks have not been ideal for the Dodgers, having watched Zack Greinke sign with the Arizona Diamondbacks, seen the proposed Aroldis Chapman trade go sideways when allegations of domestic assault against Chapman were reported by Yahoo Sports and now this.

Ken Rosenthai writes on Twitter that Los Angeles now becomes an even more logical landing spot for right-hander Mike Leake and could increase their interest in left-hander Scott Kazmir.

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