NPB Tracker

Last November, I made a few predictions about guys we might see move to NPB for 2010. I actually got a couple right:

• Buddy Carlyle (Nippon Ham)
• Lee Beom-Ho (SoftBank)
• Kim Tae-Gyun (Lotte)
• Matt Murton (Hanshin)
• Chris Bootcheck (Yokohama)

*excluding the players on my list that were already in Japan in 2009

So that’s 5/28 (without the 2009 NPB guys), and the two Koreans were pretty easy predictions. I thought I got Bobby Keppel right too, but when I looked back at my list it was Bobby Korecky that I had guessed.

There were other guys that I took long looks at, but decided to leave out for various reasons. These were the last three in my notes:

• Andy Marte – thought he would get an MLB shot with the rebuilding Indians
• Carlo Alvarado – the number of 3A innings he threw over the last two years caught my eye; in retrospect I didn’t have enough starters on my list
• Jeff Fiorentino – call this one gut feel. I favored slugging left fielder-types in my list, and thought Murton’s MLB experience distinguished him from Fio

Alvarado and Fiorentino signed with the Carp over the winter, while I assume Marte will get another look with Cleveland. Ironically, I would have loved to see the Carp get Marte instead of Justin Huber, but I don’t know if he was ever available.

According to Chugoku Shimbun, the Hiroshima Toyo Carp have agreed to re-sign right hander Michael Shultz to a two-year contract and are also working on a deal to add outfielder Jeff Fiorentino, who appeared in 24 major league games with the Baltimore Orioles last season. The scouts liked Fiorentino’s average against left-handers and believes his batting eye is well-suited for the NPB.

As posted earlier in the week, the Carp are working on adding Justin Huber.

The Hiroshima Carp are turning over most of their import roster this offseason. On their way out are:

• Scott Seabol
• Scott McClain
• Ben Kozlowski
• Andy Phillips

Phillips had the best shot at returning, but Hiroshima’s impending acquisition of Justin Huber has ruled it out.

The Carp are working on new contracts for pitchers Colby Lewis and Mike Schultz.

The Chugoku Shimbun is reporting that the Hiroshima Carp are close to a deal to acquire Justin Huber from the Twins. According to the report, the Carp put in a request to acquire Huber, and it was accepted the same day. The two sides will begin negotiating a transfer a the start of next week. The Twins’ removal of Huber from their 40-man roster coincides with this development.

I almost included Huber in my list of 2010 NPB acquisition targets, but left him out because I thought he might get another MLB look somewhere. He’s a pretty typical 4A guy at this point: successful in 3A, frequently on 40-man rosters and occasionally on 25-man rosters. But the Twins already have a pretty good first baseman named Justin, so playing at the next level was going to take an injury or a move to another organization.