NPB Tracker

Update: I’ve gotten a second tip from a different source confirming that Alvarado has indeed signed with the Hiroshima Carp.

Ryo posted earlier today that the Hiroshima Carp have been after Dodger’s 3A arm Giancarlo Alvarado. I now have a tip from a reliable source that Alvarado has signed a multi-year contract with a team in Japan. Word is it’s a three-year deal, but I don’t have a team confirmed yet. Stay tuned…

Edit: I toned down the language in this post slightly after re-reading the original article.

Here’s one I didn’t quite expect: Hochi Sports is reporting that the Orix Buffaloes and Tuffy Rhodes have failed to come to an agreement on a contract for 2010, and that Orix is breaking off negotiations. This could signal the end of Tuffy’s second stint with the Buffaloes.

According to the report, Orix offered Rhodes a salary of 250m yen ($2.5m) for 2010, a big step down from the 350m yen ($3.5m) he was paid in 2009. Orix decided to move on after not hearing back from Rhodes. Tuffy missed almost half of 2009 due to a broken wrist suffered from being hit by a pitch, but still hit .308 with 22 home runs and 62 RBI. Negotiations had apparently been rocky, but given that Orix was talking about making him a player-coach next year I fully expected him to be back. Maybe they’ll find a way to get back on track; maybe this is a hardball negotiating tactic on Orix’s part.

Having played in NPB since 1996, Tuffy is unquestionably the elder statesman among foreign players in Japan. He’s also a rare foreign player feel-good story, having returned to Osaka to put up three excellent seasons after his bust-up with Yomiuri and subsequent year out of baseball. Hopefully Tuffy will continue his career; at first glance Rakuten and Nippon Ham seem like good fits.

Hiroshima’s final offseason acquisition target is Giancarlo Alvarado, who pitched with the Los Angeles Dodgers AAA team last season with a 13-10 record with a 3.49 ERA. Alvardo was also a member of the Puerto Rico WBC team in the previous tournament. Hiroshima likes Alvardo’s flexibility to both start and relieve.

With Mike Schultz returning and the team working on bringing Colby Lewis back, Alvarado projects as depth/insurance.

A few weeks ago, when the news of Jose Contrera’s prospective move to Japan broke, I speculated that SoftBank and Hiroshima would be the two most logical destinations, given their proximity to the school his son wants to attend.

Take SoftBank off the list, at least for now, citing roster space problems, and uncertainty about where they would use him. SoftBank is working to retain import pitchers Brian Falkenborg, DJ Houlton and Justin Germano. Keeping all three would make a spot on the top roster pretty tough for anyone else to get. SoftBank acknowledges though, that Contreras could become an option in the event of an in-season injury, and Nikkan Sports suggests they could take another look at the Cuban veteran if current negotiations falter.

Holiday and business activity kept me away from blogging this week, but after a relaxing Black Friday spent mostly away from the computer and the shops, I’m ready to get going again.

Kenji Johjima is reportedly making more scouting recommendations to his new employer. This time, though, the Hanshin Tigers have their sights set a little more realistically. Randy Messenger was the main guy mentioned in Sanspo’s latest report. Messenger nearly joined the Carp in mid-season 2009 but Hiroshima and Seattle couldn’t come to an agreement on a transfer fee.

Eric Hull and Jason Bulger were the other two guys mentioned on Hanshin’s list; Hull makes sense, while they’re probably a year too late on Bulger.