Right-hander Shota Takeda was deactivated by the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks on Friday due to concerns over his shoulder.
The move comes three days after veteran lefty Tsuyoshi Wada was deactivated with stiffness in his elbow. The 24-year-old Takeda has not worked past the sixth inning in either of his two starts and has a 1-1 record with a 5.91 ERA.
Daisuke Matsuzaka, who is currently deactivated, had been considered a candidate to take Wada's spot in the rotation, but is also struggling with fitness issues.