NPB Tracker

Coming: Nelson Payano, Tony Blanco, Junichi Kawahara

Going: Kenshin Kawakami, Norihiro Nakamura, Tyrone Woods, Rafael Cruz, Ryosuke Morioka

Staying: Hitoki Iwase, Byung-Gyu Lee, Maximo Nelson, Wei-Yin Chen, Tomas de la Rosa

Trending: downward

Synopsis: Chunichi lost three major contributors from it’s 2008 team, and so far hasn’t replaced any of them with a veteran signing. They still have a deep team, but will play 2009 without a veteran ace or middle-lineup slugger. Chunichi’s foreign additions for 2009 are of the discount bin variety, rather than established performers.

• Orix will work out former Phillies farmhand Mark Kelly. Kelly, an Australian, spent last year with Kochi of the independent Shikoku Island League, going 8-7 with a 3.31 era.
• Former Yomiuri closer Junichi Kawahara passed a try out with Chunichi and will join the Dragons. Kawahara was once an effective pitcher, but has been injured for the last three years.
• Nippon Ham has put Hanshin infielder Makoto Imaoka on it’s list of acquisition targets. Imaoka was one of my favorite Hanshin players from when I lived in the Kansai area from 2000-2003, but has been hampered by injuries the last few years.
• Rakuten will send manager Katsuya Nomura to the MLB Winter Meetings in search of import players to add to the team’s 2009 roster. Nomura is reportedly interested in Padres reliever Brian Falkenborg.

English Articles:

• NPB Tracker made it on to WashingtonPost.com.
• Tyrone Woods is leaving the Dragons, who are no longer interested in paying his salary despite another good season.
• Fangraphs considers some of the Japanese position players that have come to MLB in recent years to be bargains.
• Tsubamegun has a better write-up on Game 3 of the Japan Series than I will have time for.