Veteran Outfielder Reportedly to Earn ¥1.8 Billion over 4 Years The headline can be anagrammed “F.A.I.L.” but this acquisition should, at least for the immediate future, be seen as a successful endeavor. The day teams were free to negotiate with new free agents, Tomoaki Kanemoto jumped at the opportunity to meet with former Orix Buffaloes…
Hanshin announced on Sunday (11/20) that it has reached an agreement with former Boston Red Sox (AAA) reliever Roman Mendez (26) for the 2017 season. The Dominican righty is expected to compete for the role of closer next year. His fastball reaches 159 km/h (99 mph) and he also throws a slider and a changeup. He…
Farewell to the 2016 Gaijin The Tigers made it official today. My hometown player, Matt Hague, is among the foreign-born players that won’t be returning to the Tigers in 2017. Honestly, it was to be expected. He only hit .231 with two home runs for Hanshin, and that’s after his 2015 season in Buffalo, where…
Original article can be found here 元の記事はこちら Hanshin officials divulged on the 15th that the team will not be signing infielder Mauro Gomez (32) to a contract next season. Team management has said they are “leaning towards cancelling his contract.” In his third year with the club, Gomez appeared in 139 games, hitting .255 with…
Here’s a basic rundown of the free agency situation in NPB. For players to acquire the right to become domestic free agents, they must have served on a team’s top squad for at least seven years (if involved in a trade, the years from the previous team count). Then they must apply to the commissioners’ office…
While I enjoyed the first book I read by current Hanshin manager Tomoaki Kanemoto (Prepare and Proceed, 2008), I still questioned its timing. He was still mid-career and was not coming off any major event (championship, surgery, retirement, etc.). But this book is a different story. Written the offseason after he retired in 2012, this…
Various reports are out (including this one) that Hanshin Tigers hitting assistant coach Tom O’Malley will not be with the club in 2017 and beyond. According to articles I’ve read, O’Malley’s contract expires at the end of 2016 and the club has opted not to renew it. A team official has said that O’Malley was…
The obvious top choice for the draft appeared to be pitcher Seigi Tanaka (from Soka University). Five of the 12 clubs entered the draw: the Fighters, Hawks, Marines, Carp and Giants. In other words, the five teams that finished above .500 this season. Whether the other teams chickened out or had other obvious needs is…
Full Title: The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports As a (relatively) casual fan of the game, and as an avid fantasy baseball player, the words “Tommy John” and “arm issues” were rather impersonal to me. They meant “look for another pitcher on the waiver wire” and “never draft this…
Original article can be seen here 元の記事はこちら It was reported on the 14th that Hanshin infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka (32), who is working his way back from a torn Achilles tendon, has reached an agreement to remain with the club in 2017. He aims to make a return to top squad action by the end of…