Chunichi Dragons sign Hector Luna to a one-year deal
by Gen on Nov.23, 2012 @ 10:30 am, under NPB
ESPNDeportes.com's Enrique Rojas has tweeted that the Chunichi Dragons signed Hetor Luna (32) to a one-year deal worth $450,000 (~37 million yen) plus $200,000 (~16.4 million yen) in incentives. Source: Tweet 11/22/2012
According to reports out of Japan, the Dragons apparently see Luna as a possible replacement for Tony Blanco.
Source: Nikkan Sports 11/23/2012, Sponichi 11/23/201, Sports Hochi Osaka 11/23/2012
UPDATE @ 4:28pm - Team rep Ryohei Sato told reporters about the deal today. Source: Sponichi 11/23/2012
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MLB Career Stats
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | TB | GDP | HBP | SH | SF | IBB |
| 2004 | 24 | STL | NL | 83 | 192 | 173 | 25 | 43 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 22 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 37 | .249 | .304 | .364 | .668 | 63 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2005 | 25 | STL | NL | 64 | 153 | 137 | 26 | 39 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 10 | 2 | 9 | 25 | .285 | .344 | .409 | .753 | 56 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 2006 | 26 | STL | NL | 76 | 245 | 223 | 27 | 65 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 21 | 5 | 3 | 21 | 34 | .291 | .355 | .417 | .772 | 93 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2006 | 26 | CLE | AL | 37 | 134 | 127 | 14 | 35 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 26 | .276 | .306 | .394 | .700 | 50 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2007 | 27 | TOR | AL | 22 | 46 | 42 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | .167 | .217 | .238 | .455 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2008 | 28 | TOR | AL | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 2.000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010 | 30 | FLA | NL | 27 | 30 | 29 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | .138 | .133 | .379 | .513 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2012 | 32 | PHI | NL | 28 | 66 | 62 | 5 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 14 | .226 | .273 | .355 | .628 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 339 | 867 | 794 | 104 | 208 | 41 | 6 | 15 | 96 | 23 | 11 | 55 | 159 | .262 | .314 | .385 | .699 | 306 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 1 | |||
He could be a useful player, but looks like more of a utility or replacement for Masahiro Araki than a replacement for Tony Blanco. The Dragons really need to upgrade their no. 2 spot in the lineup. Hopefully Luna can do that, maybe hit 3 if he really clicks in NPB. The Dragons should still try to add a slugging 1B.
Yeah, there is no way he is a replacement for Blanco. No where near the power potential. Watched him play for years in St. Louis. I would be absolutely shocked.
Luna looks like the kind of player NPB teams like: a 4-A player with significant MLB experience.
My concerns about Luna’s prospects for success in NPB is that he’ll be 33 in 2013 (that’s old for a professional baseball player), and his AAA offensive numbers are not good enough for a player who can no longer play the middle infield positions he played earlier in his career.
A poor replacement for Blanco!