The Rakuten Eagles on Wednesday announced the acquisition of infielder Rick Short, who made his major league debut with the Washington Nationals this year.
The 33-year-old Short will play in Japan for the second time after he hit .303 with 12 homers and 58 RBIs in 127 games for the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2003.
Short debuted with the Nationals on June 10 and went 6-for-15 (.400) with two homers and four RBIs in 11 games this past season.