MLB.com's 2012 Fantasy Preview:

Ichiro Suzuki - 122nd overall / 35th as an outfielder

Yu Darvish - 150th overall / 39th as a starter

Hiroki Kuroda - 212th overall / 57th as a starter

Koji Uehara - 355th overall / 39th as a reliever

Kosuke Fukudome - 390th overall / 106th as an outfielder

Hideki Matsui - 400th overall / 108th as an outfielder

Wei-Ying Chen - 542nd overall / 162nd as a starter

Daisuke Matsuzaka - 555th overall / 226th as a starter

Takashi Saito - 673rd overall / 82nd as a reliever

Hisanori Takahashi - 685th overall / 87th as a reliever

Tsuyoshi Nishioka - 710th overall / 63rd as a shortstop

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Farsad Darvish is planning to sell Yu Darvish merchandise at his shop in Osaka (Darvish Gallery).

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.

Hideki Matsui met with Mizuno on Tuesday to talk about the equipment he will be using in 2012.  One of the changes Matsui is said to have requested: shaving down an area three centimeters away from the bat handle about one millimeter to make it 37.5 millimeters.

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Nikkan Sports notes that the Cininnati Reds are probably no longer interested in Kosuke Fukudome since they signed Ryan Ludwick.

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Ichiro Suzuki worked out indoors for about two hours at Hotto Motto Kobe on Tuesday.

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Wei-Ying Chen officially announced that he was leaving the Chunichi Dragons in order to begin a career in the Majors during a press conference at the team's offices on Tuesday.

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The Star-Telegram's Jeff Wilson confirmed earlier reports from Sponichi that Arn Tellem and Don Nomura arrived in Texas on Monday.

The Dallas Morning News' Evan Grant notes that Yu Darvish's desire for a five-year deal will not keep the Texas Rangers from signing him.  Grant also mentions that Darvish could sign a deal worth between $10-$11M a year.

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The MLB released the Spring Training schedules on Tuesday.

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Deadlines:

Yu Darvish - 1/18 at 5pm EST (1/19 at 7am JST)

Hideki Matsui told reporters on Monday that if his knees are ok, he would do a little more running than usual.  While Matsui was only able to run about once every four days after his knee surgeries in 2007 and 2008, he has managed to run every day during the workouts he started on 1/7 this year.

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Nikkan Sports mentions that the New York Yankees may be close to a deal with Hiroki Kuroda: a one-year deal worth US$15.5M (around 1.2B yen) and the number 15.

Sponichi notes that the Kuroda wants to play for a winner and that he is probably looking for a deal in the US$13M range (around 1B yen).

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Via Sponichi: ESPN SportsNation is running a poll asking fans which current players they think belong in the HoF.  Ichiro Suzuki is so far in fourth with 77.5% of votes.

The current top three: Derek Jeter (90.7%), Mariano Rivera (88.5%), and Albert Pujols (88.2%).

Ichiro Suzuki worked out for about two hours at Hotto Motto Kobe on Sunday.  He later spoke to reporters and said he never imagined he would be able to play on the same team as Hisashi Iwakuma.  Ichiro then added that he looked forward to standing on the same field, wearing the same uniform, as Munenori Kawasaki and Iwakuma.

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Daisuke Matsuzaka played catch for the third straight day on Saturday -- 30 throws at a max distance of about 30 meters.  This was apparently the first time Matsuzuaka played catch three days in the row since his surgery.

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Norichika Aoki's workout with the Milwaukee Brewers lasted 90 minutes according to Sponichi and 75 minutes according to Nikkan Sports.  Eight Brewers' officials watched over Aoki -- team owner Mark Attanasio also reportedly dropped by.

A separate Sponichi report notes that Aoki took 32 swings during BP and even hit one over the right field fence and was flawless during fielding practice.

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Via Nikkan Sports: FOXSports' Ken Rosenthal has posted a statement released by Greg Genske, explaining why Hiroyuki Nakajima did not sign with the New York Yankees.  A snip of that statement:

Out of respect for the Yankees and for the process, we engaged in discussions, but it became clear that this was not a good fit at this stage of his career. Nakajima's decision had nothing to do with money; he just didn't feel that he would be using his abilities to the fullest and helping his club to the maximum extent possible in the role that the Yankees envisioned for him.

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If Yu Darvish signs with the Texas Rangers, travel agency H.I.S. is interested in putting together a travel package for fans.

Via Nikkan Sports: The Cincinnati Enquirer's John Fay posted the following update on Kosuke Fukudome:

The agent for Kosuke Fukudome has called as well. Fukudome, 34, hit a combined .262/.342/.370 with the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland last year.

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Hideki Okajima is working on a new type of two-seam fastball.  He worked out in Kanagawa on Thursday.

"[The New York Yankees] were the first team to call and I thought I had the best chance with them," said Okajima.  "It would be like going from the Yomiuri Giants to the Hanshin Tigers in Japan."

Okajima will be heading to Australia some time later this month to continue his training.

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Daisuke Matsuzaka started his workouts in Ft. Myers on Thursday.  He kept his workouts light and threw the ball about 20 times.  Other than taking about a week off during New Years, Matsuzaka has been working out on a regular basis.

"This is not like any other off-season," said Matsuzaka.  "I am not in a situation where I can sit and relax."

Matsuzaka may also be allowed to toss a bullpen session soon.

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Kenshin Kawakami has posted an update on his blog.  Nikkan Sports seems to think the update means Kawakami is prepared to take the year off if he does not find any takers.

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Hideki Matsui returned to Tokyo from Nomi, Ishikawa on Friday.

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Ichiro Suzuki spent about two and a half hours working out at Hotto Motto Kobe on Thursday (one and a half hours on the field and one hour indoors).  During his first BP session of the year, Ichiro took 72 swings and hit 11 over the fence.

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Norichika Aoki arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday.  Aoki's workouts with the Milwaukee Brewers is expected to take place on 1/8.

The Seibu Lions and Hiroyuki Nakajima's management company informed the media today that Nakajima left for New York earlier today.  The New York Yankees have until 1/6 at 5pm EST (or 1/7 at 7am JST) to work out a deal.

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Ichiro Suzuki did some long toss (about 80 meters) during his workouts at Hotto Motto Kobe today.

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Yu Darvish and his father arrived at Narita Airport today.