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Update, Nov 13: The Yomiuri Online is reporting that the deal will be officially announced on the 14th. 

As had been rumored, the Nippon Ham Fighters have agreed to send star closer Micheal Nakamura to the Yomiuri Giants for infielder Tomohiro Nioka in a four player trade. The Fighters also acquired reliever Masanori Hayashi and threw outfielder Takahito Kudoh into the deal.

At first glance, I like this deal a lot better for the Giants. They got an All-Star level closer in exchange for Nioka, who was clearly on his way out after his scandalous affair with newscaster Mona Yamamoto earlier in the season. The Giants reached game 7 of the Japan Series without a significant contribution from Nioka, and he was looking like a spare part for next season, scandal or no scandal.

The move improves an already strong Kyojin bullpen. The Giants have already announced their intent to excercise closer Marc Kroon’s option, so Nakamura will most likely move into a setup role.

The Fighters are hoping to add some much-needed offense in Nioka, and retain some bullpen depth with Hayashi, but both guys are coming of injuries and Nippon Ham is taking a chance that they’ll be able to return to form. I’m surprised they couldn’t get more for Nakamura.

In a minor, unrelated move, the Giants sent slick-fielding utility infielder Makoto Kosaka to Rakuten to for cash.

The next guy on the free agent market to watch is Hiroshima Carp veteran lefty Ken Takahashi. Takahashi had been weighing a move to the majors pretty much all season, and has now decided to go for it and file for free agency. Here’s a quote from JapanBall:

”It has been a wish of mine to play in America after qualifying for free agency,” said Takahashi, who went 8-5 with Hiroshima this season.

”American baseball is a different world. I’d like to start off by getting one win over there. I’ll need energy to challenge at my age but it is just a case of believing in myself,” the 39-year-old 
said. ”There aren’t that many left-handers over there either and that would be a plus for me.”

Takahashi enjoyed a resurgent season for the surprisingly competitive Carp, going 8-5 with a 3.50 ERA in 115 2/3 innings. The Carp will certainly miss his presence in the rotation, but team ownership has already promised him a home after he comes back.

Takahashi will be 40 next April, so there will be inevitable comparisons to Masumi Kuwata, who joined the Pirates at age 38 after a long career in Japan. The big difference is that Takahashi is coming off a good season, while Kuwata had been washed up for a couple of years when he moved over. I expect Takahashi to get a major league contract.

The Mets have already been mentioned as a potential suitor, which isn’t a surprise given that they need pitching and have signed a number of Japanese players over the years. Surprisingly they like him as a starter. Nikkan Sports reports that the Cubs, Padres, and Giants are interested, and quotes a Cubs scout as saying Takahashi could be used out of the bullpen and as an emergency starter. This makes a lot more sense to me given Takahashi’s age and recent workload.

The 180 is complete, at least for one year: Saburo has signed a 1-year, ï¿¥100M ($1M) contract to remain with the Chiba Lotte Marines. The birth of his third child next March and wanting to make up for last year’s 4th place finish were cited as the main factors in his decision.  “The dream (of winning) with Lotte takes precendence over the dream (of playing) overseas,” said Saburo, adding, “after having a good season I’ll think it over again”. 

Kenshin Kawakami is poised to make a move from Chunichi, but still undecided on whether to jump over to MLB or find a new employer in Japan. Hanshin is gearing up to make the first move by offering Kawakami a 4-year, 1.8B yen ($18M) deal. Said team president Shoji Numazawa: “we don’t intend to play a money game. We’re just attacking to the extent that is possible to acquire players, even if they are looking to the majors.” The Giants made a similar attempt to lure Kosuke Fukudome last year, but their offer was only about half what he wound up getting from the Cubs.

Unfortunately I don’t really see $4.5M/year getting it done for Kawakami; maybe if they bumped it up to $7M/year he’d have something to think about. So far the Braves and Red Sox have been most frequently linked to interest in Kawakami.

The NPB free agency filing period began yesterday, giving players eligible players 10 days to excercise free agency or stay put. In a shock to no one, Koji Uehara didn’t waste any time in informing the Yomiuri Giants of his intent to cross the Pacific. Uehara will become the second Giants star to move to MLB, after Hideki Matsui. Giants representative thanked Uehara for his 10 years of hard work for the team.

Uehara also announced that he has hired SFX to represent him in upcoming negotiations.

Speculation of Uehara’s destination has already begun. The Mets and Angels are reportedly interested in Uehara for a relief role, while the Orioles like him as a starter. Sponichi quotes Baltimore exec as saying, “There are a lot of good experienced professional players in Japan. Uehara? He’s one of them”. Sponichi also speculates that the Brewers might be a good fit given the potential departure of CC Sabathia.

My wild guess of a prediction for Uehara is the Cardinals. Dave Duncan has a way of getting the best of his staff, and the Cards could use him in a swingman role. What kind of contract he commands will really depend on whether teams view him as a starter or a reliever.

Sponichi and Nikkan Sports are both reporting that Saburo has changed his mind and will remain with the Chiba Lotte Marines for at least another year. Sponichi quotes Saburo as saying “the direction is decided but it’s not 100%. It might change. I’ll decide within 2 or 3 days.”  Sponichi reports that Saburo has a two year, ï¿¥200M ($2M) offer in hand from the Marines and the two papers are in agreement that this could be wrapped up by the 11th. According to Nikkan Sports, Saburo wants to avenge his team’s 4th place finish, but I still wonder why we’re seeing this reversal. I’m sure we’ll learn more in the next few days.

The Japan Series has just ended, but the off-season is already in full swing. Here are some highlights for today.

Japanese Articles:

• Kenshin Kawakami is having a hard time making up his mind whether he wants to move to MLB or another team in Japan. My money would be on MLB, but it’s worth noting that after becoming a free agent, Hiroki Kuroda signed a 4-year deal with an opt-out clause that allowed him to move to MLB, which he later exercised. 
• Hiroshima Carp owner Hajime Matsuda has pitcher Ken Takahashi that there will be a place for him with the Carp after he retires. The 39 year-old Takahashi is eligible for free agency and eyeing a move to the majors. He’s coming off a solid year and could be a bullpen lefty for someone.
• Yakult is looking to bring in Twins AAA reliever Ricky Barrett. Barrett has never made it to the show and is a minor league free agent.
• More Yakult news: Brazilian instruction draft pick Rafael Fernandez commented on his selection: “I was encouraged to ‘stay in Japan and do my best’. I want to perform well for my friends”. 
• Mark Kelly earned an invite to Orix’s autumn training camp.
• Chiba Lotte worked out Marlins AAA infielder Chase Lambin for a spot on next year’s team, and is also bringing in Gary Burnham of Taiwan’s La New Bears for a try out.
• No rest for the weary: Yu Darvish has already begun training for next year.

English Articles:

• News from Taiwan: Yokohama is working out China Trust Whales lefty Yu-Chieh Shen. La New also played an exhibition series against the Yomiuri Giants farm team. Game 2 featured the Giants’ shockingly young Taiwanese farmhands.
• Tommy Lasorda is being awarded the Order of the Rising Sun for his contributions to Japanese baseball.

Seibu wins! The Lions overcame two shakey innings from veteran starter Fumiya Nishiguchi take game 7 3-2, and the series 4-3. Nishiguchi struggled this year with injuries and ineffectiveness, and starting him was a risky call, but he at least gave the Lions two innings without letting the game get out of hand. This set up the Lions to use Kazuhisa Ishii, Hideaki Wakui, and Alex Graman for two innings each, which was enough to shut down the Giants the rest of the way.

On the Giants side, Koji Uehara didn’t manage to make a farewell appearance, meaning his Yomiuri career has likely ended with his disappointing game 5 performance.

Three of the four competitors in the upcoming Asia Series will be nicknamed Lions, with only Korea’s Samsung failing to make the cut. There will still be three Lions competing for the Konami Cup though, giving the series an Anglophile feel.

• Tsubamegun has probably the most detailed write-up you’ll see of game 7 anywhere.
• Simon has a post with pics at jhockey. Check out the air Series MVP Takayuki Kishi gets in his ceremonial dou-age. The Lions don’t seem to be able to propel manger Watanabe quite that high… the pics should make it clear why.
• Deanna has a quick write-up as well. Her game 4 write-up has some phenomenal pics.
• myworldofbaseball has a post on game 7 as well, extolling the virtues of Hiroshi Hirao’s performance.
• Japanball has the official Kyodo summary.
• BaseballReference has the whole Series documented. 
• Sanspo has a whole bunch of pics.
• And finally, a thread has been started at JapaneseBaseball.com.

Update: Please check out the latest on Saburo in this post.

Chiba Lotte outfielder Saburo Ohmura is set to officially announce his intent to pursue a move to MLB on November 10th. The veteran Marine, known as Saburo in Japan, made up his mind after a trip to America, where he had a physical and took in a World Series game. “I choose with my gut,” said Saburo, adding he “didn’t want this dream to end as a dream.”

Saburo is a career .264/.337/.403 hitter in NPB and is a strong fielder, scoring Gold Gloves in 2005 and 2007. He’s coming off a two-year contract that paid him about $700K/season, down from his peak salary of $850K in 2006. JapaneseBaseball.com has his stats up to 2007, and I dug up a clip of him hitting a home run in 2007.

The Sports Hochi article I linked to above mentions the A’s, Braves, Nationals, and Pirates as teams with with outfield needs and speculates that they might be destinations. Living in the Bay Area however, I’ve seen plenty of A’s baseball and can say firsthand that they have plenty of guys like Saburo and aren’t really in need of another. I don’t really see Saburo hitting enough to compete for a starting job, but should be able to handle all three OF positions well enough to be a useful 4th outfielder. An NL team looking to add OF depth would probably be the best fit.

Re-posting this since the event is tomorrow (later today in Tokyo).

Japanese baseball card and history guru Rob Fitts emailed me this morning to let me know of appearance he’s making in Tokyo to promote his new biography of baseball legend Wally Yonamine. Here’s the headline:

Please join Wally Yonamine and author Robert Fitts at the Tokyo American Club on November 9 from 11 AM to 2 PM for a book reading and signing of the new book Wally Yonamine: The Man Who Changed Japanese Baseball. All are welcome. It will be a great chance to meet Wally, ask him questions, and talk baseball with a member of the Japan Baseball Hall of Fame.

For more information and directions, please go to www.WallyYonamine.com

Rob’s books can be purchased directly from his website.