The Hiroshima Carp have reached an agreement with 30-year-old first baseman Jesus Guzman on a contract for next season, the Central League club announced Saturday.
The 185-cm, 91-kg Guzman has played 403 big league games over five seasons, mostly with the San Diego Padres. A right-handed hitter from Venezuela, Guzman is a career .247 hitter in the majors, but batted just .188 with two homers in 184 plate appearances last season with the Houston Astros.
In addition to handling first base, Guzman has also played 101 big league games in left field. His one-year deal is worth an estimated $1 million (roughly ¥108 million) with additional performance-based incentives.
The Carp finished third in the CL this past season for the second straight year, but will be under a new skipper, Koichi Ogata, in 2015.