The Seibu Lions announced today that they'll be placing Dee Brown on waivers tomorrow.  If / when he clears, he'll likely be released.

Brown has been struggling at the plate this year (21 G, 9-for-58, 16 SO, 5 BB, .155/.246/.190) and the addition of Ryan Mulhern ultimately made him expendable.  Said GM Yasuo Maeda, "We spoke to him about and we all felt this would be the best for him."

The Seibu Lions announced today that Dee Brown has returned to Japan.

Without knowing when or if players Brian Sikorski, Jose Fernandez, Alex Graman, and Dee Brown will return, the Seibu Lions might begin taking a look at other foreign players.  The team is still hopeful that the four will return sometime before the end of the month, but there's no guarantee.  Because of this, there's a chance the four won't be a part of the opening day roster.

It seems the Lions also think Tatsuya Oishi (1st round) and Yusei Kikuchi need a little more seasoning and may try to pick-up an arm for the starting rotation.

It appears Brian Sikorski, Jose Fernandez, Alex Graman, and Dee Brown left Japan yesterday without the team's permission.  The official line from the front office yesterday was that the players left because their families were concerned about them, but Hisanobu Watanabe told reporters that the club never agreed to let the players leave and that they did so on their own.  And it seems the team isn't even certain if (or when) they'll return.

Brian Sikorski, Alex Graman, Jose Fernandez, and Dee Brown were given permission to leave the team to return to their homes today because their families were concerned for their safety.  The four are expected to return some time before the start of the season.

The Seibu Lions announced today that 36-year-old INF Jose Fernandez and 32-year-old OF Dee Brown will be returning this season.  Both players signed 1-year extensions worth 60M yen.

The Seibu Lions announced today that they signed Brian Sikorski and Alex Graman to 1-year extensions; Sikorski will make 90M yen (up 27M yen) next season and Graman 50M yen (down 100M yen).

The Lions are still negotiation deals with Jose Fernandez and Dee Brown.

The Seibu Lions announced on Wednesday that Brian Sikorski, Alex Graman, Dee Brown, and Jose Fernandez will be returning to their homes later today.

Sikorski: We finished in 2nd this year so I'd like to shoot for the Championships next year.

Fernandez: It's too bad we lost.  I returned to Seibu this year hoping to win.

Brown: I learned a lot this year.  I think I should be able to do better next year.

Graman: I was able to put up any results so I'll be doing a lot of training during the off-season.

With Yasuyuki Kataoka (SEI) hurt and likely out for about 3 weeks (at least it seems it'll take him that long for a full recovery), the Lions will likely call up Dee Brown and Yoshihito Ishii to help strengthen the lineup.

Incidentally, Takumi Kuriyama appears to be a candidate to take over as lead-off hitter while Kataoka is out.

The Lions decided to take Kimiyasu Kudo, Ryoma Nogami, and Dee Brown off the active roster after Friday night's loss to the Rakuten Eagles.  In turn, the Lions will call up Taiyo Fujita, Alex Graman, and Ryo Sakata.