The college player that made headlines for almost signing a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies has passed tryouts with the Tokushima Indigo Socks (Island League).  Assuming everything goes smoothly during the negotiation process, Hiroya Yamamura could be signing a contract with Tokushima some time this week.

The Osaka University of Commerce (OUC) announced on Friday that the Philadelphia Phillies have officially canceled their agreement with Hiroya Yamamura.

OUC manager Takuji Yamanishi told reporters that Yamamura was surprised at the turn of events and need time to sort things through.

It seems Phillies GM Ruben Amaro was upset that there were news stories of him actually being signed (to a fairly large deal) despite the fact that the real agreement was what appears to be an invite to Spring Training for a chance at a contract.

No word on whether the Phils are still interested in Hiroya Yamamura as of yet.

Kind of sad if you ask me.  There was probably a misunderstanding somewhere along the line.

Daisuke Matsuzaka closed out his training in Arizona on the 6th.  He told reporters that he was able to build up a completely new kind of body / foundation during his 32-day training in Arizona.  Matsuzaka's training this off-season focus primarily on his shoulder, trunk muscles, and buttocks.

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After having spent a couple of days in Los Angeles Hisanori Takahashi is now in Arizona.  And speaking of Takahashi, it seems he turned down offers from the Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets (via JapaneseBallPlayers).  The report itself was posted back on the 4th so it's actually somewhat old news.

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Hideki Matsui continues to work out at a somewhat slow pace.  When asked about his knees and when he might get a start in the outfield, Matsui said that his knees felt fine and that there was no ETA (it all depends on how him and how he's feeling).  To that end, Matsui plans on letting the Angels know exactly when he's ready to play.

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UPDATE 5:41pm JST: The Phillies have apparently signed Yamamura and will be making an announcement on the 10th.

It seems the Philadelphia Phillies have an interest in Osaka University of Commerce catcher Hiroya Yamamura.  Yamamura was passed over during the 2009 draft and announced on Sunday that he wants to try his luck in the Majors.

College Stats (via draftrepo and not 100% complete)