OSAKA -- The Hanshin Tigers are set to sign utility man Eduardo Perez from the St. Louis Cardinals, officials of the Central League club confirmed Wednesday.

Perez, who can play first or third base and has also played left field, hit .297 with three home runs in 35 major-league games this past season and is expected to bat No. 4 for the Tigers next year, Hanshin officials said.

The acquisition of the 31-year-old Perez will bring Hanshin's quota of foreign players to four after the club signed San Diego pitcher Buddy Carlyle and former Pittsburgh infielder Ivan Cruz last month. Pitcher Greg Hansell is still on the team's roster.

Dragons retain hurlers

NAGOYA (Kyodo) Veteran pitching duo Masahiro Yamamoto and Kazuhiro Takeda have signed new deals to remain with the Chunichi Dragons, officials of the Central League club said Wednesday.

Yamamoto, 35, signed a two-year deal for the same annual salary of 180 million yen he received in 2000, after recovering from a poor start to finish with a winning record of 11-9 and an earned run average of 2.61.

"At this age, I'm just very happy to get a multiyear contract," said Yamamoto after talks at Chunichi headquarters in Nagoya.

Meanwhile, the 35-year-old Takeda, who underwent surgery on his right knee in September and finished the season with just three wins, also agreed to a 180 million yen package for the final year of his current three-year deal.

Swallows get pitchers

Yakult Swallows have signed former Yokohama BayStars pitcher Naoya Shimada and also acquired pitcher Satoshi Iriki from the Japan Series champion Yomiuri Giants, officials of the Central League said Wednesday. Shimada, 30, inked a deal for an estimated annual salary of 35 million yen, while the 28-year-old Iriki signed a contract worth 12 million yen.

Meanwhile, in a trade deal with Chiba Lotte Marines of the Pacific League, Yakult also acquired pitcher Tomokazu Teramura.

Lions land pair

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. (Kyodo) The Seibu Lions have acquired the services of Venezuelan first baseman Alex Cabrera and Californian Scott McClain, who will play third base, officials of the Pacific League club said Wednesday.

Cabrera, 28, played for the Arizona Diamondbacks this season, hitting .263 with five home runs in 31 games. Seibu officials said that he will likely be a designated hitter next season.

The 28-year-old McClain played just nine games in the majors this season, but blasted 25 homers for Colorado's Triple-A team.

CL president to quit

Central League president Sumiko Takahara will step down at the end of her term of office this month because of an ongoing battle with cancer, officials said Tuesday.

The league's board of directors will select a successor to Takahara at their meeting Dec. 13 and then seek the approval of the owners at a meeting in January.

Takahara, former head of the Economic Planning Agency and ambassador to Finland, took over as CL president in March 1998.