The Rakuten Eagles announced today that Romulo Sanchez will arrive in Japan tomorrow.  The club also announced that they released Juan Morillo.

Juan Morillo has parted ways with the Rakuten Eagles.

Morillo left Japan at the end of March and didn't return because he was worried about current playing conditions.  He also apparently has ligament damage in his right elbow and probably wouldn't be able to pitch much this year.

UPDATE 11:28pm - It seems Morillo asked to be released.  An official announcement will be made by the Eagles within the next day or so.

Byung-Hyun Kim will be returning to Korea to be with his family.  There is no set timetable for his return.

UPDATE @ 8:30pm

Juan Morillo and Kelvin Jimenez were also allowed to return to their homes (Dominican Republic).  Like Kim, there is no set timetable for their return.

5:06pm JST

According to Sponichi, Rasner and Ruiz will be making 70M yen next year while Morillo will be making 20M yen.

12:03pm JST

The Rakuten Eagles announced today that they will be signing Darrell Rasner, Juan Morillo, and Randy Ruiz to contract extensions for the 2011 season.  All three players apparently made it to the hold-over list (次年度契約保留選手名簿).

Juan Morillo (RAK) returned to Japan on the 2nd after flying to the US to get his right elbow examined.  When Morillo first left for the States, there was talk that he might need surgery to address a ligament injury in his right elbow, but it now seems that won't be necessary.

Morillo joined up with the Ni-gun roster in Sendai on Sunday.

It appears Juan Morillo (RAK) needs surgery on his right elbow.  He apparently returned to the US yesterday for additional testing.

Morillo initially injured his right elbow during an outing on 7/27 against the Softbank Hawks -- he threw only 8 pitches and was removed from the game.  Since then, Morillo has been rehabbing at Ni-gun, but without much luck.

Morillo signed a 1-year contract that included an option for a second year.  That second year might be in jeopardy depending on how things go with his elbow.

The Rakuten Eagles announced on Wednesday that they took Juan Morillo off the active roster after he was diagnosed with inflammation in his right elbow (medial collateral ligament).

Morillo apparently felt something was wrong with his elbow during an outing on the 27th against the Softbank Hawks -- Morillo was taken out of the game after throwing one pitch to the third batter he faced.

It appears as though the Rakuten Eagles managed to nab Juan Morillo, a pitcher that was supposedly coveted by the Hanshin Tigers.

The Eagles are likely looking to Morillo to be their closer next season, a spot they had trouble consistently filling this past season.

My concern with Morillo would be his walk rate.  While he did manage to strike out 87 batters in 67 innings this past year at AAA, he also walked 51.  And that's pretty much been his MO thus far in his career.  Over his career, his BB9 is about over 5.6.

Baseball Cube

2009 Season

=== UPDATE 11/20/2009 6:50am JST

The contract is a 1-year deal worth 50M yen (the amount includes a signing bonus).  No word on his uniform number yet.

The Tigers appear to be interested in both Juan Morillo (Minnesota Twins) and Brad Thomas (Hanwha Eagles out of the KBO).

The Tigers are looking to replace both Scott Atchison and Jeff Williams in the bullpen and the FO apparently feels that Morillo and Thomas are a perfect fit.

Juan Morillo (LHRP) - Baseball Cube

Brad Thomas (RHRP) - Baseball Cube