Via Nikkan Sports, the New York Daily News' Anthony Mccarron reports that Joe Girardi would like another left-handed bat and Hideki Matsui could be a candidate.  A snip:

Girardi acknowledged that the Yankees have considered several hitters, including free agents Johnny Damon, Raul Ibanez and Hideki Matsui as potential solutions. GM Brian Cashman has said several times this winter that the Yanks could use a surplus of starting pitchers – A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes and Freddy Garcia will all vie for the No. 5 slot – as a trade chip for a hitter, too.

"Johnny's been a great player for a long time," Girardi said when a reporter brought up Damon, a Yankee from 2006-09. "There have been a bunch of names that have been talked about and they're all good players. Ibanez's name has been brought up and he's had a great career, Matsui's name has been brought up and he's had a great career.

"Obviously, we know what Johnny and Matty have meant to this organization over the years and how they've been successful in New York. I'm curious to see how it's all going to shake out."

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Junichi Tazawa worked out with Takashi Saito in Kawasaki on Friday.

And Bobby Valentine has been quoted as saying, "[Tazawa] could help bullpen from opening day."

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Former Yomiuri Giant and Nippon Ham Fighters, Wirfin Obispo (27), has signed a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds.

Hideki Matsui worked out for about two hours on Thursday.  During soft toss BP, he took 40 from the right and 160 swings from the left.  He also used his new 2012 model bat -- it has a grip that is about one millimeter thinner than before.

And Sponichi seems to think that the Baltimore Orioles will be strong suitors for Matsui.  They also mention other teams like the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Mets.

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Daisuke Matsuzaka did long throws at a distance of about 50 meters on Wednesday.  Matsuzaka tossed his first bullpen session in about eight months on January 30.  His next session will like take place on February 3.

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Sponichi is reporting that Hiroki Sanada will be getting a tryout in the US.  Not much else is known, other than that he will be leaving for the on Saturday and will continue his workouts with Hisanori Takahashi for a few days before the tryout.

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Hideki Okajima returned from Australia (Gold Coast) on Thursday and told reporters that he will approach the season as if it were his very last.  Okajima has already tossed two 100+ pitch bullpen sessions.  He will head to the US after spending a few days in Japan.

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Sponichi notes the Texas Ragners' signing of Don Kalkstein, sports psychologist.

Hideki Matsui and Koksuke Fukudome make Jon Heyman's top 20 remaining free agents list.  Snips from the article:

7. Hideki Matsui, DH-OF. His .252 batting average from a year ago hurts him, but Oakland is a death trap for hitters. Wouldn't bet against this guy.

15. Kosuke Fukudome, OF. Speaking of being a disappointing Cub, Fukudome wasn't looked upon kindly as an overpaid North Sider. But as an outfield extra who plays defense and gets on base (.361 career OBP), he'd be a solid pickup.

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Matsui took 123 swings during soft toss BP on Wednesday.  He also started wearing batting gloves during BP for the first time this month.

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Tsuyoshi Wada will finish out his off-season workouts in Hawaii (he is scheduled to leave Japan later this week).

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Hisanori Takahashi is currently working out in Los Angeles.

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Ryota Igarashi tossed 52 pitches (mostly two-seamers and sliders) during his first bullpen session of the year.  He plans to toss five more sessions before the start of Spring Training.

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Tsuyoshi Nishioka is in the middle of divorce talks Naoko Tokuzawa.  Her inability to support Nishioka in the US and reports of an affair by Nishioka (which he has denied) are mentioned as reasons.  They are currently living apart from each other.

Nishioka is planning to head to the US on February 10.

A day after tossing his first bullpen session since May 2011, Daisuke Matsuzaka played catch at a distance of about 20 meters on Tuesday and told reporters his elbow did not feel especially tight and that there were no problems.  Matsuzaka is scheduled to toss another bullpen session on February 3.

Matuzaka also decided to get a new hairstyle to mix things up a bit -- his stylist apparently dropped by his hotel on January 22 and that is when he decided to get his first perm in about 10 years.

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Hideki Matsui worked outdoors on Tuesday for the first time in five days.  He finished out his practices by taking 102 swings during soft toss, a high for the current off-season.  Regarding any potential offers, Matsui said he still had not heard anything and that he was not considering a return to Japan.  When asked what he would do if he did not receive any offers from teams in the US, he replied, "I have not thought that far ahead."

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Sponichi notes that Munenori Kawasaki was assigned the number 61.

Daisuke Matsuzaka played catch at a max distance of about 30 meters on Monday.  He then tossed his first bullpen session since 5/16/2011 -- 11 pitches to a standing catcher, 10 pitches to a squatting catcher with a little something extra on the last two pitches he threw.  Assuming no problems on Tuesday, Matsuzaka could do long distance throwing on Wednesday and another bullpen session on Thursday.

Matsuzaka also visited Yoshihiro Doi (signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore Orioles) in Ft. Lauderdale and spent about two hours with him.

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Koji Uehara is planning to return to the US in early February.  On Monday, he played catch at a distance of about 60 meters.

"I am more or less ready to go," said Uehara.  "I plan to toss two to three bullpen sessions before heading to America."

When asked about the trade rumors, he replied, "If it is going to happen, I hope it happens quickly."

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Via Sponichi, The Daily News' Andy Martino reports that the New York Mets are interested in Kosuke Fukudome.  A snip:

... According to two team insiders, the club is looking for a veteran lefthanded bat for the bench, and is shopping in the aisle that includes Rick Ankiel, Kosuke Fukudome, Raul Ibanez and Johnny Damon.

The latter two, while bigger names, appear less of a fit, because of a presumed desire for more at-bats and less defensive versatility. But Ankiel or Fukudome could provide Terry Collins with a lefty pinch-hitter, occasional platoon partner for Jason Bay and insurance against an injury to, or disappointing performance from, Bay, Lucas Duda or Andres Torres.

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Sponichi reports that KOMO News incorrectly pronounced Hisashi Iwakuma's name HIGH-SA-SHI, instead of HE-SA-SHI, during a recent news broadcast.

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Yu Darvish made Dayn Perry's "What you should watch for in 2012" list.

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Former Seibu Lion Tetsuya Iwasaki (29) left for the US on Monday to participate in the Arizona Winter League.  Iwasaki wants a chance to pitch in the Majors and is willing to sign a minor league deal.

The Seattle Mariners held a press conference at Safeco Field on Sunday to introduce Hisashi Iwakuma to the media.  He also participated in FanFest after the press conference.

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The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly figures Koji Uehara will be traded.  A snip:

I've been told the Orioles have had sporadic conversations with the Rangers in bringing back Uehara, and it's something they still maintain interest in. But they'd have to find a trade match. And Texas GM Jon Daniels isn't expected to give away Uehara, especially to the team that wrangled two solid young players out of him for Uehara a few months ago.

Even at a $4 million price tag, Uehara, 36, has some trade value to other clubs who need back-end bullpen help. I think the safe money is that he ends up elsewhere, but after seeing him break into tears when he was traded in July, it's obvious where he'd most like to be.

And FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal tweeted that the "Orioles are pursuing Rangers' Uehara..."

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Via Nikkan Sports, the Associate Press has the following update on Tsuyoshi Nishioka:

Gardenhire also left no doubt that Jamey Carroll would start at SS with Alexi Casilla at 2B. Both of them and Tsuyoshi Nishioka can play each spot. The Twins haven't given up on Nishioka, but he's not guaranteed a place on the team. Gardenhire said he hopes Nishioka, who struggled with offense, defense and health in his first major league season, comes to spring training "with a better idea of what we do and how we do things."

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A number of reports mention a Dallas Morning News article by Gerry Fraley that discusses things four things Yu Darvish will need to overcome in order to find success in the Majors.  Things like playing outdoors in the heat (42 games at 35+ degrees Celsius), pitching on four days of rest, and long travel distances.

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Via Sponichi, ESPN's fan poll on whether or not Ichiro Suzuki is a Hall of Famer: 83% yes, 17% no.

Hisashi Iwakuma left for the Seatte out of Narita Airport on Saturday with his wife and kids and is currently scheduled to attend Seattle Mariners' FanFest.  Before leaving, he told reporters he has his sights set on pitching on opening day (3/28 at Tokyo Dome) and that he has been using an MLB regulation ball during practices (he is getting more break on his pitches).

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Hiroki Kuroda worked out in Los Angeles on Friday.  His workouts began at 8am.  While playing catch, he mixed in his curve, fork, and change.  Kuroda could also toss a bullpen session sometime next week.

FYI: Kuroda gets to take his translator, Kenji Nimura, along with him to the Yankees.  He has also decided to temporarily hold off on updating his blog as he focuses on preparing for the upcoming season.

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Ichiro Suzuki worked out for about two hours outdoors in Kobe on Saturday.

MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports that there is a "good chance" Koji Uehara will be traded.  A snip:

According to Major League sources, there is a “pretty good chance” that reliever Koji Uehara is going to get traded soon. The Rangers, who acquired him from the Orioles on July 30 for Tommy Hunter and Chris Davis, would likely get prospects in return.

...

Uehara has become available since the signing of Yu Darvish because the Rangers have told Alexi Ogando there is a good chance that he could end up back in the bullpen.

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The Seattle Times' Larry Stone mentions that the Seattle Mariners will let Ichiro Suzuki play out his current contract.

"Right now, at the end of the year, we mutually agreed we'd table any discussions, move forward and play the season and see what happens,'' he said. "Anything could happen at any point in time, but right now, our biggest concern is to go into spring training and watch all of our players and let the process work itself out."

That, of course, leaves open the possibility that Ichiro could become a true free agent for the first time in his career. But that's getting ahead of ourselves. The more pressing matter, for now, is where he's going to hit in 2012.

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Sponichi is reporting that about ten teams were interested in Hiroki Kuroda and that the Arizona Diamondbacks may have given him the largest offer at US$13M a year.  In the end, it came down to the New York Yankees and Hiroshima Carp and according to someone involved, Kuroda spent the last week flip-flopping between the two teams about "once every to minutes."

Kuroda on the Yankees:

Not everyone has the opportunity to put on the pinstripe uniform.  They are a team with tradition and they are looking to win a World Series Championship.  And that team looked to me for help.  I choked up a little when I got the offer.  I felt that if I did not take this chance, I would come to regret it ten, twenty years down the line.

The no trade clause also apparently helped.  He also gets the same number he wore with the Los Angeles Dodgers (18).

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ESPN's Jerry Crasnick tweets that the New York Mets are looking into a number of left-handed hitting OF, including Kosuke Fukudome.

It seems Sponichi has also taken that tweet and turned it into a possible interest in Hideki Matsui, even though his name was never mentioned.

MLB.com's Greg Johns reports that Eric Wedge is thinking about "non-leadoff options" for Ichiro Suzuki.  A snip:

Eric Wedge first brought up at the Winter Meetings in Dallas in early December the idea that Ichiro Suzuki might not be his leadoff hitter any longer, and the Mariners manager said Thursday he's now "further down the road in leaning that direction to have Ichi hit somewhere else."

Speaking at the Mariners pre-Spring Training media luncheon, Wedge expanded on his thoughts, saying Ichiro could bat second or third if he's not leading off. And he mentioned Dustin Ackley, Chone Figgins and perhaps a healthier Franklin Gutierrez as candidates to fill the leadoff role.

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The New York Yankees finalized their deal with Hiroki Kuroda.  He gets a one-year deal worth US$10M and can earn up to an additional US$1M in performance bonuses ($200,000 each for 160, 170, 180, 190, and 200 innings).

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When reporters asked Hideki Matsui to comment on the possibility of signing with a National League team, he replied, "I think I will ok.  Although I really do not know how things will go until I try."

On Thursday, Matsui took 116 swings, from both side of the plate, during soft toss BP.

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Koji Uehara posted an update on his blog about his workouts (long throws at about 90 meters on Wednesday and about five minutes of pitching, on flat ground, on Thursday) and his concerns about where he might be playing next year (he feels anxious).

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Daisuke Matsuzaka threw 21 pitches (all fastballs) on flat ground on Wednesday.

Via Nikkan Sports, the Dallas Morning News' Gerry Fraley provides the following update on Yu Darvish:

"We'll keep an eye on the volume of throwing," Maddux said.

The report on Darvish is he has "the ability to throw more pitches than the catcher has fingers," Maddux said. That fits the Japanese style of working the edges of a large strike zone and being comfortable going to full counts. Darvish had seven starts last season of 130-plus pitches.

With the Rangers, Maddux said, Darvish must determine which are his best three to four pitches, live and die with them and go for outs early in a count. High pitch counts will not work in the summer heat of Texas.

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Via Sponichi, Bloomberg included Darvish on their list of top five athletes to watch in 2012.

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ESPN's Richard Durrett discusses the PR/money-making opportunities that come with signing a playing like Darvish.