Daisuke Matsuzaka played catch at a max distance of about 30 meters on Monday.  He then tossed his first bullpen session since 5/16/2011 -- 11 pitches to a standing catcher, 10 pitches to a squatting catcher with a little something extra on the last two pitches he threw.  Assuming no problems on Tuesday, Matsuzaka could do long distance throwing on Wednesday and another bullpen session on Thursday.

Matsuzaka also visited Yoshihiro Doi (signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore Orioles) in Ft. Lauderdale and spent about two hours with him.

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Koji Uehara is planning to return to the US in early February.  On Monday, he played catch at a distance of about 60 meters.

"I am more or less ready to go," said Uehara.  "I plan to toss two to three bullpen sessions before heading to America."

When asked about the trade rumors, he replied, "If it is going to happen, I hope it happens quickly."

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Via Sponichi, The Daily News' Andy Martino reports that the New York Mets are interested in Kosuke Fukudome.  A snip:

... According to two team insiders, the club is looking for a veteran lefthanded bat for the bench, and is shopping in the aisle that includes Rick Ankiel, Kosuke Fukudome, Raul Ibanez and Johnny Damon.

The latter two, while bigger names, appear less of a fit, because of a presumed desire for more at-bats and less defensive versatility. But Ankiel or Fukudome could provide Terry Collins with a lefty pinch-hitter, occasional platoon partner for Jason Bay and insurance against an injury to, or disappointing performance from, Bay, Lucas Duda or Andres Torres.

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Sponichi reports that KOMO News incorrectly pronounced Hisashi Iwakuma's name HIGH-SA-SHI, instead of HE-SA-SHI, during a recent news broadcast.

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Yu Darvish made Dayn Perry's "What you should watch for in 2012" list.

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Former Seibu Lion Tetsuya Iwasaki (29) left for the US on Monday to participate in the Arizona Winter League.  Iwasaki wants a chance to pitch in the Majors and is willing to sign a minor league deal.

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.

Nikkan Sports is reporting that the Chunichi Dragons have signed Kenshin Kawakami (36) to a one-year deal worth an estimated 30M yen.  An announcement of the deal could be made as early as today with a press conference in Okinawa on January 31 to [re]introduce Kakawami to the press.  He will join the team from there.

The Dragons are also said to be interested in Kosuke Fukudome (34).

UPDATE @ 12:45pm - According to Sponichi, Kawakami worked out with Masahiro Yamamoto in Tottori this winter and was throwing at about 80%.  Yamamoto also put in a good word with the team for Kawakami.

UPDATE @ 3:57pm - The Dragons apparently offered a one-year deal because they were concerned about his right shoulder.

"I spoke to [Kawakami] a little and he said he wanted to aim for more than 100 innings while pitching as a starter," said Takashi Ide (chief of team development).

Team rep Ryohei Sato added, "If his shoulder is good, we can stick him in the rotation.  We will take a close look."

UPDATE @ 4:43pm - Kawakami is scheduled to arrive in Okinawa on January 30.  He will then sign and be introduced on January 31.

UPDATE @ 8:17pm - Kawakami will get the number eleven.

UPDATE 1/29 @ 12:31am - The Dragons have posted an announcement at their team site.

FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal posted notes on a couple of Japanese players:

Remember Kosuke Fukudome? [...] Fukudome, who had a combined .712 OPS last season for the Cubs and Indians, wants to remain in the majors, according to a source with knowledge of his thinking. Some executives, however, believe he may end up back in Japan.

Speaking of Japanese players, Rangers right-hander Koji Uehara had such a positive experience in Baltimore, he recommended the Orioles to the two free-agent lefties the team signed out of the Japanese league, Tsuyoshi Wada and Wei-Yin Chen, according to a major-league source. [...] A trade back to the Orioles is a possibility.

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Nippon Ham Fighters' team rep Toshimasa Shimada informed reporters that they received the posting fee (~US$51.7M, ~4B yen) for Yu Darvish from the Texas Rangers today.

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Former Yokohama Bay Star Hiroki Sanada is only thinking about playing in the US right now.

Kosuke Fukudome returned from his training session in Hawaii on Friday and said to reporters, "This is not really something I can worry about.  I will consider [options] as my agent handles [the rest]. ... Baseball players earn their keep by playing in games.  Playing in games is the most important thing. "

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Norichika Aoki's contract could be worth a max $8,606,250 over three years (incentives/bonuses), according to a tweet by CBSSPorts.com's Jon Heyman.

Aoki is scheduled to workout in Okinawa for about a week, beginning as early as today.

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)

Koji Uehara held a baseball clinic for youth baseball players in Neyagawa, Osaka today.

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Via Sponichi: CBS New York's Sean Hartnett briefly mentions that the New York Yankees still need a left-handed bat and could turn to Hideki Matsui.  Sponichi also mentions the following quote made by an unnamed Baltimore Orioles' rep: "There is probably more interest in Matsui with Luke Scott signing with the Tampa Bay Rays.  The 27 games Matsui played in the outfield last year is definitely a good thing."

On Friday, Matsui worked out for about an hour and a half in Tokyo.  His workouts included playing catch and taking BP.  It was Matsui's seventh straight day of workouts.

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Hiroki Kuroda apparently picked the New York Yankees because he felt they were the closest to winning a championship (out of the group that made offers to him).

Nikkan Sports is also reporting that while the US media is saying Kuroda's deal was US10M, the offer may have actually been US16M.

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Via Sponichi: The Cincinnati Reds are looking for a left fielder and MLB.com's Mark Sheldon mentions Kosuke Fukudome as an option:

Kosuke Fukudome brings a left-handed bat to the table and the ability to play all three outfield spots. Fukudome, who turns 35 in April, has been a .260 hitter with a .361 on-base percentage in four Major League seasons since moving from Japan, but he isn't as much of a home run threat.

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The Seattle Mariners x Yomiuri Giants Baseball Clinicht took place at Giants Stadium in Kawasaki today.  Ken Griffey Jr and Eric Wedge were guest instructors.  About 100 boys and girls from youth baseball teams in Tokyo, Kanagawa, and Iwaki, Fukushima attended the clinic.

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Deadlines:

Norichika Aoki - 1/17 at 5pm EST (1/18 at 7am JST)

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

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.

Nikkan Sports mentions a Boston Globe report by Nick Cafardo on remaining free agents.  A snip:

Starting pitchers

7. Hiroki Kuroda, free agent - The former Dodger still has some desire to stay out West. The Rockies have interest. Kuroda would be a good fit in Boston, where Bobby Valentine’s experience with Japanese pitchers would help. The Yankees are interested.

Outfielders

6. Kosuke Fukudome, free agent - He never lived up to the hype coming from Japan to the Cubs, but he is a serviceable platoon outfielder who plays decent defense.

Designated hitters

4. Hideki Matsui, free agent - All of Japan is wondering whether anyone will take him on. The 37-year-old former Yankee star is still capable of playing some defensively, but his production has slowly decreased.

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Munenori Kawasaki attended a party at a hotel in Fukuoka on Monday and hinted, to about 300 fans, that he would be playing in the US next year.

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Yu Darvish updated his blog on Monday asking fans how their winters were going (specifically mentioning Christmas).

Via Nikkan Sports, Kosuke Fukudome on his current situation:

I do not really a preference for where I want to play (Japan or the US).  I will play where ever I am needed.  It is also possible I will not get any offers. ... I do not really mind if it takes a while for something to come to fruition.

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The Minnesota Twins are apparently interested in Tsuyoshi Wada and Hisashi Iwakuma -- GM Terry Ryan apparently met their agents on 12/5.  A snip from a Star Trbinue article by La Velle E. Neal III:

The Twins have spoken with the agents for Japanese pitchers Hisashi Iwakuma, a righthander, and Tsuyoshi Wada, a lefthander. Iwakuma was injured during last season and has to prove he's healthy. Wada is 33-13 over his last two seasons. Twins GM Terry Ryan remarked that, for some reason, pitchers have had an easier time transitioning to MLB than position players.

And Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon on Hideki Matsui (via ESPN):

"He's a wonderful professional," Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

Maddon went on to call him a "clutch hitter" and a "good man." He said the Rays are just now discussing their plans for the DH spot.

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Iwakuma told reporters on Monday that while one of his goal did include winning a Cy Young award, he also wanted to win a Roberto Clemente award.  Teams interested in Iwakuma include the Seattle Mariners, Washington Nationals, Minnesota Twins, and Oakland Athletics.

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The Seattle Times' Geoff Baker on Munenori Kawasaki:

Zduriencik confirmed that he is looking at free-agent Japanese infielder Munenori Kawasaki — among others — for the backup shortstop job. Munenori said last week he'll only play for the Mariners and would take a minor-league deal if needed in order to team with training partner Ichiro. ... He added that defense is more of a priority for the job than offense. Kawasaki is known more for his glove than his bat.

Nikkan Sports is also reporting that he may end up getting a split one-year contract with an option for a second year.

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Hisanori Takahashi told reporters on Monday that he has plans to work out with Norihito Kaneto and Hiroki Sanada in Hawaii again in January.

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Ichiro Suzuki worked out for about two hours at Hotto Motto Field today (running, BP, long-distance catch, base-running).