NPB Tracker

When I was a kid, I had a subscription to Baseball Digest and read it cover to cover every month. Shukan Baseball has since superceded it as my baseball reading of choice, but I still have fond memories of the big pile of Baseball Digests that I racked up back in Illinois. 

I found out recently that the magazine is stepping into the Infomration Age this March. You can get an early start by bookmarking their boilerplate page at baseballdigest.com and also checking out their page on Facebook.

Over the next couple weeks, I’ll be taking a look at player personnel moves made by each NPB this offseason. This series will not cover draftees or impact rookies, only additions and losses of experienced players. The focus will be on foreign players, but notable Japanese players will be included as well.

Coming: John Wasdin, Takayuki Shimizu

Going: Craig Brazell, Matt Kinney

Staying: Hiram Bocachica, Alex Graman, Koji Mitsui

Trending: neutral

Synopsis: very little change for the defending Japan Champions. It was a little bit of a surprise to see Brazell go after hitting 27 homers, but he did have a weak OBP. Shimizu arrives from Yomiuri for cash and should provide some bench/DH depth.