The Chiba Lotte Marines announced today that they are going to sign thirty-five-year-old pitcher Cha-Seung Baek. He has been assigned the uniform number 55.
Lotte gave Baek a tryout at QVC Marine on July 28. He was playing for the BC League's Musashi Heat Bears this year.
According to a report by Daily Sports, the two sides agreed to a one-year deal worth an estimated five million yen.
According to Nikkan Sports, the Eagles could inform Akinori Iwamura (33) today that he is no longer a part of the team's plans for the 2013 season. Iwamura believes he can still play and will continue his training as he waits for another offer. Source: Nikkan Sports 10/7/2012
UPDATE @ 10:53pm - The Eagles announced today that they will not offer Iwamura a contract for the 2013 season. Source: official announcement
UPDATE @ 11:32pm - Iwamura will wait for domestic offers. He may also consider heading back to the US. Source: Daily Sports 10/7/2012
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The Buffaloes informed Cha-Seung Baek (32) on Friday that he is not a part of the team's plans for the 2013 season. An official announcement has yet to be made. Source: Nikkan Sports 10/6/2012
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Takahiro Okada threw fifty pitches in the bullpen as part of an exercise to help improve his throwing. (Sanspo)
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Workouts a Kochi Tobu Baseball Stadium began today. A ceremony took before practices and the team was presented with a number of local food items, like buntan (citrus fruit) and melon.
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Things do not look good forCha-Seung Baek, at least in terms of making the active roster. After throwing ninety-four pitches during his last outing, Baek was shut down until today. Said Akinobu Okada, "Baek probably will not pitch again while we are in Kochi."
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Buffaloes officials told reporters today that fans that purchase tickets to their game on April 28 should be able to simply stick around and catch Becky's concert after the game (in other words, they should not have to pay an additional fee).
Team official also said that they are the first pro yakyu team to hold a concert after a baseball game.
Akinobu Okada told reporters on Wednesday that Lee currently had the lead overTakahiro Okada for the clean-up spot in the line-up.
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There was a drop in media from Korea. Last year thirteen members of the media from six different companies covered the first day of spring camp in Miyakojima. This year, there were only eight from four companies.
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Batting Practice
Bullpen Sessions
Wednesday
Of the forty-five could-be hits Dae-Ho Lee collected, twenty-one were hit toward center and eleven were hit toward right. (Sanspo)
Thursday
Cha-Seung Baek threw 45 pitches to a squatting catcher. (Daily Sports)
4th round draft pick Tomoyuki Kaida threw 66 pitches; he threw 60 on Wednesday. (Nikkan Sports)
Nikkan Sports is reporting that the Buffaloes signed 31-year-old Cha-Seung Baek to a contract on Sunday. Orix will likely announce the deal within the next couple of days. Baek is expected to undergo a medical exam today before heading back to Korea to continue his off-season training.
UPDATE @ 6:55pm - Sanspo is reporting that it's a 1-year deal worth a total 40M yen.
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Sports Hochi reports that the Orix Buffaloes are working on a 1-year deal with 31-year-old Cha-Seung Baek and that a formal deal could be signed within the next few days. The agreement will also probably contain a club option for a second year.
The Buffaloes are also:
thinking about offering Kei Igawa a multi-year deal to entice him to sign.
could go strong after 29-year-old INF Kenta Kurihara, if he decides to exercise his FA option.