The New York Mets have long been interested in Japanese pitcher Kodai Senga, and they finally landed him on a five-year deal.

According to reports, the Mets are signing Senga to a $75 million contract. There is a no-trade clause in his agreement, though he could choose to opt-out after the third year of the deal. It will be made official once he passes his physical.

Senga is largely expected to be the no. 3 starter behind Max Scherzer and the newly signed pitcher Justin Verlander. Mets GM Billy Eppler, who has a history of working with Japanese pitchers like Masahiro Tanaka and Shohei Ohtani, was really high on Senga as he described him a “very, very talented pitcher.”

Furthermore when the Mets talked with Senga during the Winter Meetings, manager Buck Showalter had nothing but good words to say for the 30-year-old right-hander.

“I like him. It’s tough to project [Japanese pitchers], but a good pitcher is a good pitcher. You are always thinking about the load of pitching every fifth day compared to [once weekly], but they said that about some really good Japanese pitchers that have come over and done well. We have talked with him and he’s impressive. Enjoyed our little talk with him,” Showalter said of Senga.

Kodai Senga played for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in the Nippon Professional Baseball league last season. During the year, he averaged 10 strikeouts per nine innings and recorded a 1.94 ERA.

He is the latest addition to the Mets' bullpen that has seen a major improvement this offseason. The team has recently added reliever David Robertson and starter Jose Quintana, who could be the no. 4 option for the franchise.