The Chiba Lotte Marines signed former Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Carlos Rosa, the Japan Series champions announced Friday.
The 26-year-old Rosa's deal is for one year at ¥37.8 million. The Marines hope Rosa can help in the bullpen after they lost free agent closer Hiro Kobayashi to the Hanshin Tigers in the offseason.
"It's huge for the team to add someone who can pitch toward the end of a game," Lotte manager Norifumi Nishimura said.
Rosa made his big league debut in 2008 with the Kansas City Royals. He has a 0-2 record with one save and a 3.97 ERA in 31 appearances over the past three seasons.
In other baseball news, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles hope to have addressed their closer situation after signing former major leaguer Romulo Sanchez to a one-year, ¥40 million contract on Friday.
The 26-year-old Sanchez has a 1-0 record with one save and a 4.04 ERA in 35 2/3 innings with the New York Yankees and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Rakuten manager Senichi Hoshino said he had been checking up on Sanchez for some time.
"I've been keeping my eye on him," Hoshino said. "He'll start out in the farm first. I'm not sure he'll be ready for Opening Day (because he's waiting for his work permit)."
Both the Central and Pacific Leagues open the season on April 12. The Eagles start the year on the road before playing at Kleenex Stadium Miyagi on April 29 against the Orix Buffaloes.