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06/14/2009 2:30 PM ET
Yankees' Linden headed to Japan
Club sells outfielder's contract despite Triple-A success
By Danny Wild / MLB.com
Todd Linden was batting .312 with 42 RBIs with Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre this year. (Danny Wild/MLB.com)

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• International League batting leaders

NEW YORK -- The Yankees sold outfielder Todd Linden's contract to a Japanese club this week despite the outfielder's success early this season at Triple-A.

Linden, batting .312 with seven homers and 42 RBIs for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre of the International League, agreed to a deal with Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Japanese Pacific League.

"I've been talking to teams over there for a couple of years now," Linden told the Scranton Times-Tribune. "It just finally came together."

The 29-year-old switch-hitting outfielder is among the league leaders in most offensive categories for the Yankees. He ranks second in runs (43) and triples (five) and is third in hits (74), RBIs (42) and total bases (122) in 60 games.

"I know the opportunity in Japan is good," Linden told the newspaper. "It's something I couldn't really pass up."

Linden's path to the Bronx had a few roadblocks -- teammates Austin Jackson is one of the organization's top outfield prospects and Shelley Duncan, who leads the league in homers and RBIs, already has plenty of Major League experience with New York.

Linden said he hopes to return to the States at some point, ideally with the Yankees.

"You put up numbers wherever you're at and you have possibilities," Linden said.

He has helped Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to first place in the International League's North Division.

"It was phenomenal," Linden said. "I couldn't have asked for anything more. I told the coaching staff that if I'm back in the states, I'd love to be with Yankees."

The 6-foot-3 outfielder, a .291 hitter in eight Minor League seasons, has appeared in 270 Major League games over five seasons with the Giants and Marlins. He was a supplemental first-round by the San Francisco Giants in 2001 (41st overall) and signed with the Yankees as a free agent this January.

Danny Wild is an editor for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.