The Chiba Lotte Marines officially announced that they selected 21-year-old INF Takuya Takahama as part of their player compensation for losing Hiroyuki Kobayashi to the Hanshin Tigers.

Takahama- "I wasn't really thinking about this...  It all caught me by surprise so I didn't have anything to say.  The Tigers drafted me and I couldn't do a thing the last three years because I've been hurt.  I feel bad because I was hoping to get things done for the team this year.  I want to do my best with Lotte and become a a player that's good enough to be asked to return via FA."