NPB Tracker

The other day, I read in Sanspo that 2008 Central League Rookie of the Year Tetsuya Yamaguchi played in the American minor leagues. I knew that he was the first former instructional player to win an RoY, but I figured he was from the independant leagues or something and didn’t bother to research it further. But it turns out that Yamaguchi played three seasons in the Arizona system, never rising above rookie ball.

The irony is that he won the award for the Yomiuri Giants, so they directly benefited from having a returning Japanese player on their team. Maybe they’ll re-think the returnee rule later on.

Channeling mlbtraderumors for the second straight day…

• Looks like Takashi Saito is non-tender candidate. He was admittedly awful in his playoff appearance, but given how great he’s been the last few years I think he deserves another shot.
• Dan Evans has spoken to over 10 teams about Kenshin Kawakami.
• The Giants are reportedly in on Tadahito Iguchi.
• Kei Igawa visited Hanshin’s office, fueling speculation that he might be headed back to the Tigers. Igawa insists that he’s focused on succeeding in America. Igawa is eligible for the rule 5 draft this year… I’ll have more on him in a couple days.
• Texas AAA reliever Yukinaga Maeda announced his retirement last week.