Baseball in Japan & Around the World
The Hiroshima Carp are turning over most of their import roster this offseason. On their way out are:
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.
According to links found on Yahoo Japan, Hiroshima is making some moves with its foreign roster. Righthanded reliever Scott Dohmann has been released. Dohmann had posted a 17.28 in 16 games with the Carp.
Word from the Kyodo grapevine is that the Carp are also looking to import Andy Phillips, who spent time in the White Sox system this season but is currently a free agent. Phillips would be the Carp’s third foreign corner infielder, joining Scott McClain and Scott Seabol. The two Scotts are struggling with identical .216 averages, but then again no one on the Carp is hitting. One of them figures to lose roster time if Phillips joins the team. The Carp have had bad luck with guys named Scott this year.
Like Todd Linden, Phillips is a 4A guy who I always thought would end up in Japan. But Wily Mo Pena was released by the Mets yesterday, and I’d like to see what he could do in Japan. Certainly he’s shown more power at the MLB level than Phillips.