NPB Tracker

The Softbank Hawks have officially announced the acquisition of righty Brad Penny, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun (edit: confirmed on the team’s website). Penny’s deal is for one year and $3m plus performance bonuses. Sanspo adds that Penny will travel to Japan on February 8th, and join Softbank’s camp on the 9th.

Softbank’s rotation was gutted this offseason with the loss of Toshiya Sugiuchi, Tsuyoshi Wada and DJ Houlton, so Penny’s presence fills a big void. I expect that the #2 spot in Softbank’s rotation is his to lose.

Sanspo has reported that the Chunichi Dragons have signed reliever Jorge Sosa. Sosa had been in camp with the Dragons as a test-sei, which I’ll roughly translate as “non-roster invitee”. Sosa received a $100k signing bonus and will be paid a $300k salary. The signing is to be made official on February 7th (JST).