The Detroit Tigers announced Wednesday that they have sold the contract of minor league first baseman Dean Green to the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.

A 27-year-old left-handed hitter has spent the bulk of his career in Double-A. This season, he hit a career-high 23 home runs in 476 at-bats split between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo.

At Toledo, Green was teammates with former Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters pitchers Dustin Mollekin and Michael Crotta, as well as Casey McGehee, one of the stars for the 2013 Japan Series-winning Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.