Baseball

CINCINNATI – All-Star infielder Mike Moustakas and the Cincinnati Reds have agreed to a $64 million, four-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told AP, the team’s first move to upgrade a lineup that struggled to score. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Monday because the agreement had […]

The Hiroshima Carp announced Tuesday they have submitted an application with NPB to post seven-time Golden Glove winner Ryosuke Kikuchi to the major leagues. Once NPB files Kikuchi’s application with Major League Baseball and all 30 teams are notified of the posting, any club willing to pay the posting fee […]

The Chiba Lotte Marines have gotten a makeover. While the Marines may have missed out on the postseason this year (Lotte was fourth in the Pacific League), they haven’t been idle during the offseason. There have been some changes to the team since the final out of 2019 that should […]

KOBE – Ichiro Suzuki, who retired from professional baseball in March, returned to the diamond as an amateur on Sunday, batting and pitching in a sandlot-level game against a team of high school teachers. Using the rubber baseball common to the form of the game known as kusayakyu in Japanese, […]

OSAKA – High school games played at the spiritual home of Japanese baseball will get a new look in 2020 after the organizer of the prestigious national championship on Friday announced its first pitch limits. Starting from next spring’s national invitational tournament at Koshien Stadium near Osaka, the National High […]

KOBE – The Hanshin Tigers are set to acquire major league free agent Justin Bour for the 2020 season, Tigers general manager Osamu Tanimoto said Thursday. Tanimoto said in an interview that the Central League team has reached a basic agreement with the 31-year-old Bour, who played first base for […]

PITTSBURGH – The Pirates’ leadership overhaul is complete. Pittsburgh hired longtime major league coach Derek Shelton as manager on Wednesday, the final piece of a new-look leadership following a last-place finish in the NL Central. Shelton replaces Clint Hurdle, who was fired on the final day of the regular season. […]

Popular former outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo, who has announced on social media that he wishes to resume playing professional baseball, officially unretired on Wednesday when he was listed as a free agent eligible to sign with any club. The 47-year-old played for the Hanshin Tigers, New York Mets and San Francisco […]

SAPPORO – Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters outfielder Haruki Nishikawa would like to move to the majors as early as the 2021 season, the 27-year-old said Wednesday. Appearing at the Fighters’ team office in Sapporo to sign his contract for next season, Nishikawa is entering the second year of a two-year […]

Hayato Sakamoto is the one who stayed. In the midst of an era of increased player movement and Japanese stars departing for the major leagues, Sakamoto is one of biggest names, among the age group making the jump, to seemingly decide the grass is actually greener on his side of […]