Recent NPB Transactions
I haven’t covered in-NPB transactions much since the Shimizu trade, so let’s catch up. Here’s a summary:
- Yokohama signed catcher Tasuku Hashimoto away from Lotte
- Yakult signed infielder Atsushi Fujimoto away from Hanshin
- Lotte brought pitcher Yasuhiko Yabuta back from the Royals organization
- Nippon Ham signed pitcher Masao Kida away from Yakult
- Lotte signed pitcher Hidetaka Kawagoe, released by Orix
- Lotte signed pitcher Akichika Yamada and catcher Noaki Matoba, both released by SoftBank
- Lotte extended a spring training invite to infielder Makoto Imaoka
- Nippon Ham traded pitchers Yataro Sakamoto, Suguru Matsuyama and infielder Naoto Inada to Yokohama for pitchers Takeharu Katoh, Takahiro Matsuka and outfielder Yuta Sekiguchi
- Yomiuri signed Masahide Kobayashi, formerly of the Indians
- Yomiuri traded pitcher Hiroshi Kisanuki to Orix for pitcher Yasunari Takagi
- Yomiuri is about to sign no longer shaggy pitcher Shugo Fujii
I think that brings us up to date… did I miss anyone?
Clearly Lotte, Yokohama and Yomiuri have been the most active in the last few weeks. Yokohama is clearly retooling, and I think they’re heading in the right direction. Signing Hashimoto is a solid move.
The deal with the most upside is Orix fleecing Yomiuri for Kisanuki. The Buffaloes basically got a guy who’s proven he can start effectively when healthy for a lefty reliever who has two good seasons to his name, most recently 2007. Yomiuri certainly knows more about Kisanuki’s health than I do, but it looks like a great deal for Orix to me.