IBC

A source told ESPN.com that Kameron Loe has agreed to a two-year, $2 million contract to pitch in Japan.

The Rangers were looking to clear a 40-man roster spot or two anyway, and Loe was one of their most expendable players, even though he finished 2008 with a 3.23 ERA in 30 2/3 innings. The sinkerballer was much more successful as a reliever than as a starter for Texas.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/player ... LB&id=3995

The Softbank Hawks have agreed to the signing of major league
right-hander Kameron Loe ... the team said Friday.

Loe's deal is worth 190 million yen over two years ... team sources
said.

The 27-year-old Loe has a 19-23 career record with a save and a
4.77 ERA in five major league seasons -- all with the Texas Rangers.
He was 1-0 with a 3.23 ERA in 14 relief appearances this past season.

[He is] expected to join the team's starting rotation.

http://www.japanball.com/news.phtml?id=13518

Phillies released outfielder So Taguchi.

Taguchi had just 91 at-bats despite spending the entire season on Philadelphia's roster and hit .220/.283/.297. He's 39 now, so if he wants to continue his career, he may have to do so back in Japan.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/player ... 08&id=3383

Blue Jays released LHP Les Walrond.

Walrond, who was claimed off waivers from the Phillies two weeks ago, is expected to pitch in Japan next year.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/player ... 08&id=3694

Toronto Blue Jays left-hander Les Walrond is set to join the
Yokohama BayStars, according to major league and Japanese baseball
sources.

Walrond posted a 1-1 record with a 6.10 ERA in six relief
appearances in 2008 for the Philadelphia Phillies before being
claimed by Toronto off waivers after the season. The 32-year-old
started 17 games for Triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2008, posting five
wins, including two shutouts.

Yokohama hopes that Walrond can join the starting rotation after
a lack of pitching depth kept the team at the bottom of the Central
League standings all year.

http://www.japanball.com/news.phtml?id=13491

The Yokohama BayStars on Wednesday announced the acquisition of
... left-hander Les Walrond ...

http://www.japanball.com/news.phtml?id=13589

The Nippon Ham Fighters of Japan have reportedly acquired Ryan Wing from the A's.

Wing was once a very good starting pitching prospect in the White Sox system before having shoulder problems. He reemerged as an effective reliever with Oakland's Triple-A affiliate last season, amassing a 2.33 ERA in 54 innings, but the A's never did give him a shot.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/player ... LB&id=1040

The Nippon Ham Fighters have acquired the services of Oakland
Athletics minor league left-hander Ryan Wing, the Pacific League club
said Thursday.

The 26-year-old Wing has no experience pitching in the major
leagues but went 2-1 with a 2.33 ERA in 47 relief appearances for
Triple-A Sacramento this past season.

http://www.japanball.com/news.phtml?id=13512

Free agent Justin Germano has agreed to terms with the Softbank Hawks of Japan.

Germano will likely join Kameron Loe in the team's rotation. The 26-year-old right-hander was 7-13 with a 4.86 ERA for the Padres over the last two seasons. He'll make about $500,000 in Japan.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/player ... LB&id=3873

The Softbank Hawks have agreed to the signing of major league
right-hander ... Justin Germano, the team said Friday.

... Germano will ink a one-year deal for 50 million yen, team sources
said.

Germano went 0-3 with a 5.98 ERA in 12 games with the San Diego
Padres in 2008. He is 8-16 with a 5.27 ERA over four years in the
majors. [He is] expected to join the team's starting rotation.

http://www.japanball.com/news.phtml?id=13518

Diamondbacks released catcher-infielder Jamie D'Antona.

A 2003 second-round pick who batted .365/.405/.604 in 110 games at Triple-A last season, D'Antona is expected to sign with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of the Central League in Japan.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/player ... LB&id=1391

The Yakult Swallows said Friday they have acquired the services
of Arizona Diamondbacks minor league infielder Jamie D'Antona on a
one-year deal worth $500,000, plus performance-based incentives.

D'Antona, who played 18 games in the majors this past season,
batted .365 with 21 home runs and 79 RBIs in 110 games for Triple-A
Tucson in 2008.

http://www.japanball.com/news.phtml?id=13519

The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles confirmed Saturday that they have signed pitcher Darrell Rasner.

Rasner's deal was worked out a few weeks ago. He's set to make about $1 million next year.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/player ... LB&id=1281

The Yankees have sold Darrell Rasner to a Japanese team for $1 million, his agent said.

Yeah, another $1 million is exactly what the Yankees need. Rasner's agent apparently approached the Yankees about the move. Rasner is good enough to pitch in MLB, but perhaps not as a full-time starting pitcher. The Yankees were going to keep viewing him as nothing more than a fallback.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/player ... LB&id=1281

The Rakuten Eagles have agreed on a two-year deal with New York
Yankees right-handed starter Darrell Rasner, according to a report by
U.S.-based sports channel ESPN.

Rasner went 5-10 with a 5.40 ERA in 24 games for the Yankees in
2008 and has a 9-15 record with a 5.00 ERA in four major league
seasons.

ESPN quoted Rasnar's agent Matt Sosnick as saying that the
27-year-old would like to pitch in Japan and that Yankees general
manager Brian Cashman and scout Hiroshi Abei helped facilitate the
deal ...

http://www.japanball.com/news.phtml?id=13460

The Eagles have ... agreed on a two-year deal with New York
Yankees right-hander Darrell Rasner, who went 5-10 with a 5.40 ERA in
24 games for the Yankees in 2008 and has a 9-15 record with a 5.00
ERA in four major league seasons.

http://www.japanball.com/news.phtml?id=13523

Kevin Mench has reportedly agreed to terms with the Hanshin Tigers of Japan on a one-year deal.

This needed to happen. Mench would have had to accept a minor league deal to keep playing in the U.S. He's expected to make about $2 million in Japan.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/player ... LB&id=3439

The Hanshin Tigers have acquired the services of Toronto Blue
Jays outfielder Kevin Mench on a one-year deal worth $1.8 million,
the Central League club said Wednesday.

The 30-year-old Mench has a lifetime batting average of .269
with 89 home runs in 702 major league games. He hit .243 in 51 games
for the Blue Jays in 2008.

http://www.japanball.com/news.phtml?id=13617

The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles confirmed Saturday that they have signed pitcher ... Matt Childers.

... Childers will earn [$500,000].

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/player ... LB&id=1281

The Rakuten Eagles are close to signing Philadelphia Phillies
minor league right-hander Matt Childers, Rakuten team representative Jun Yoneda said on Saturday.

Yoneda said a formal announcement is expected on a deal with the
29-year-old Childers in the next few days. Childers, who is 0-0 with
a 9.69 ERA in 11 games in his major league career, went 3-5 with 20
saves in 53 games this season for the 2008 World Series champions'
Triple-A affiliate.

http://www.japanball.com/news.phtml?id=13523

Mets wrote:Kevin Mench has reportedly agreed to terms with the Hanshin Tigers of Japan on a one-year deal.

This needed to happen. Mench would have had to accept a minor league deal to keep playing in the U.S. He's expected to make about $2 million in Japan.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/player ... LB&id=3439

I don't think they make size 8.5 fitted hats in Japan...poor Mench.

i am shocked that mench is going to Japan.

Rockies wrote:

Mets wrote:Kevin Mench has reportedly agreed to terms with the Hanshin Tigers of Japan on a one-year deal.

This needed to happen. Mench would have had to accept a minor league deal to keep playing in the U.S. He's expected to make about $2 million in Japan.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/player ... LB&id=3439

I don't think they make size 8.5 fitted hats in Japan...poor Mench.

Hideki matsui reportedly has a head/hat size close to or equal to Mench's.

reported by who? prove it.

The Indians have reportedly opted to sell reliever Tom Mastny to the Yokohama BayStars.

Mastny, 27, gave up 24 runs in 20 innings for the Indians last season, leaving him with a 6.13 ERA in 94 career innings.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/player ... 600&id=620

The Cleveland Indians have sold right-hander Tom Mastny's
contract to the Yokohama BayStars, U.S. media reported Tuesday.

The 27-year-old split the 2008 season between the Indians and
Triple-A Buffalo, going 2-2 with a 10.80 ERA in 14 games in the major
leagues, including one start.

Last year, Mastny went 7-2 with a 4.68 ERA in 51 relief
appearances for Cleveland. He went on to record a win in relief in
Game 2 of the American League Championship Series against the Boston
Red Sox.

http://www.japanball.com/news.phtml?id=13565

The Yokohama BayStars on Wednesday announced the acquisition of
right-hander Tom Mastny ...

http://www.japanball.com/news.phtml?id=13589

I've always been curious about that. What are the rules? Can a player be sold to a Japanese team without his consent?

I'm not exactly sure, but i'd make an educated guess that the players union would be all over that.

Who wouldnt want to go to Japan? Have a little sushi and that asian persuasian sounds like a hell of a time.

NPB Tracker translates a report from Sponichi that says former Rays reliever Scott Dohmann is close to a deal with the Hiroshima Carp ...

The 30-year-old reliever beat out Grant Balfour for the final spot in the Rays’ bullpen coming out of spring training (a decision that made sense at the time given how each was pitching) and went 2-0 with a 6.14 ERA in 12 appearances for the Rays before being sent out. He cleared waivers and spent the rest of the season at Durham, going 0-2 with a 3.46 ERA and 20 saves in 33 appearances.

http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/sport ... -to-japan/

Free agent Scott Dohmann is getting a one-year, $650,000 to pitch for the Hiroshima Carp next season.

Dohmann beat out Grant Balfour for a spot in Tampa Bay's pen last spring, but he lost his job after posting a 6.14 ERA in 14 2/3 innings and didn't make it back to the majors. Getting guaranteed money in Japan seems like a good choice for him.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/player ... LB&id=3869

The Hiroshima Carp on Friday announced the acquisition of
right-hander Scott Dohmann, who spent most of the 2008 season at
Triple-A Durham in the Tampa Bay Rays organization.

Dohmann went 2-0 with a 6.14 ERA in 12 relief appearances for
the Rays early in the 2008 season before being sent to the minor
leagues. His one-year contract with Hiroshima is worth 44 million yen
plus performance bonuses.

The 30-year-old has a 9-8 career record in the major leagues
with a save and a 5.32 ERA in 164 games, all in relief, from
2004-2008 for the Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals and Rays.

http://www.japanball.com/news.phtml?id=13599

Rockies wrote:reported by who? prove it.

Sound a little testy there dude. I forget who. I just remember hearing it when he first came to the US. Pretty sure I remember him making a trip to the minors and them not having a batting helmet that fit him. I'll do some digging after my pick.

C'mon boys, a little Google searching: http://nomaas.org/phpBB1/viewtopic.php? ... 9323bb9c58

Sounds like MAtsui is an 8 and mench is 8 1/8 or 8 1/4 (probably depending on his haircut. So it's close.

The Orix Buffaloes said they've picked up Jon Leicester from the Orioles.

Leicester made five starts and five relief appearances for the Orioles in 2007, amassing a 7.59 ERA in the process. He spent all of last year in Triple-A and still had an ERA over 5.00. The Buffaloes won't be counting on him as their new ace.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/player ... LB&id=3759


The Orix Buffaloes said Thursday they have acquired right-hander
Jon Leicester from the Baltimore Orioles organization.

Leicester, 29, posted a 3-8 record with one save and a 5.26 ERA
in 39 games in 2008 for Triple-A Norfolk. He has a 7-6 career record
in the major leagues with a 5.87 ERA in a total of 48 games for the
Chicago Cubs from 2004 to 2005 and the Orioles in 2007.

http://www.japanball.com/news.phtml?id=13595

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/player ... LB&id=3118

... on Thursday, senior Orix official Katsuhiro Nakamura
revealed that the Pacific League club is expected to agree to a deal
with former Hanshin Tigers right-hander [and former Pittsburgh Pirate] Ryan Vogelsong by the end of the year.

http://www.japanball.com/news.phtml?id=13595

Nikkan Sports is reporting that the Yokohama BayStars of Japan have acquired [1B] Dan Johnson from the Rays.

It might be the best thing for Johnson's career, though we wouldn't have been surprised to see him turn in a few solid seasons as a platoon player if given another chance. He hit .307/.434/.556 for Triple-A Durham last season.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/player ... =MLB&id=54

... P Jason Davis [has declined his] outright assignment to the minors, and so [has] become [a] free agent ... Davis has said that he's interested in pitching in Japan.

http://mvn.com/sandlotswashbucklers/200 ... begin.html