The Nippon Ham Fighters announced today that they a basic agreement in place with Terrmel Sledge and that he was assigned the number 10.

UPDATE 12/8 @ 3:16pm - According to Sponichi, Sledge signed a one-year deal worth an estimated 120M yen.  He was also assigned the number 10.

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2011 Season

Nikkan Sports is reporting that the Nippon Ham Fighters are looking into both Terrmel Sledge (34) and Micheal Nakamura (35).  Both players started their NPB careers with the Fighters and are still fairly popular with the fan base.

If the Fighters sign Sledge, he could be used as a DH/1B and could bat fifth behind Yoshio Itoi (third) and Sho Nakata (fourth).  As for Micheal, he would give the Fighters another option out of the bullpen (could help replace Masanori Hayashi and Kazumasa Kikuchi).

The Yokohama Bay Stars announced today that they will not be signing Terrmel Sledge (34) to a contract for the 2012 season.  Sledge is said to be interested in returning to Japan next season.

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2011 Season

Sports Hochi is reporting that Chiba Lotte Marines official said the team was looking for a power bat.  They figure it could mean Alex Ramirez.  Sponichi drops Terrmel Sledge's name.

Both players have pop and have proven track records.  The biggest differences: Ramirez is right-handed, is 37-years-old, has no PL experience, and up until this year averaged 144+ games a year since 2005; Sledge is left-handed, is 34-years-old, has PL experience, and has never played in more than 129 games.

Alex Ramirez Career Stats

Terrmel Sledge Career Stats

The Bay Stars announced today that they took Terrmel Sledge off the active roster so that he can return to the US to get treatment for a groin injury (right side).  Sledge is scheduled to leave Japan on the Friday.  There is no timetable for his return, although the team trainer did tell reporters that while surgery was a possibility, Sledge could also go the rehab-only route (2-3 months).

Sledge originally suffered the injury while running the bases during a game against the Hanshin Tigers on 8/20.  He was taken off the active roster and spent time rehab the injury before returning to the active roster on 9/6.  But he started starting feeling pain in the same area and was again taken off the active roster on the 10th.

Terrmel Sledge was taken off the active roster today with pain in his right leg.  Sledge injured the leg while running the bases in yesterday's game against the Hanshin Tigers and is scheduled to have it examined at a hospital tomorrow.

Terrmel Sledge went 5-for-5 with 3 homers and 8 RBI against the Hanshin Tigers tonight.

1st AB (1st inning vs Kai-Wen Cheng) single to center

2nd AB (3rd inning vs Kai-Wen Cheng) solo homer to center

3rd AB (5th inning vs Tatsuya Kojima) single to right

4th AB (7th inning vs Tatsuya Kojima) grand slam to right

5th AB (8th inning vs Yusuke Kawasaki) 3-run homer to center

This was actually the second time Sledge hit 3 homers in a game this season.  The first time was on 4/13 vs Chunichi (3-for-4, 3 HR, 7 RBI).

Terrmel Sledge took a knee to the head while sliding into second base in the top of the 1st inning of tonight's game against the Yomiuri Giants.  He was later removed from the game before the start of the bottom of the second and taken to a hospital where he was diagnosed with a contusion.

The team will wait to see how Sledge is doing tomorrow before deciding on what to do next.

Terrmel Sledge banged out another homer today and now has 5 in his first 4 games of the season.  That ties the NPB record for quickest to 5 homers (Adrian Garrett with Hiroshima in 1978 and Boomer Wells with Orix in 1989).

The Yokohama Bay Stars announced that Brandon Mann, Brett Harper, and Terrmel Sledge returned to Japan today.

Regarding the other two players: Clayton Hamilton will return on the 23rd and there's still no firm date for when Brent Leach will return, but he is expected back before the start of the regular season.