The Orix Bufafloes signed Texas Rangers minor league pitcher Brad Mills and former Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles infielder Jose Fernandez, the Pacific League club announced Sunday.
Orix hopes the two acquisitions will lift the team out of the PL cellar and get the Buffaloes back into a tight pennant race. Orix (38-41-3) is 7½ games out of first place with the second half of the season left to play.
The 28-year-old Mills was 7-5 with a 3.87 ERA for the Rangers' Triple-A team this season.
Fernandez, 38, played for the Rakuten Eagles last year and was with Monclova in the Mexican League. He played for Orix in 2009, when the Dominican hit .261 with 15 homers, and has 10 years of service time in Japan.
Maeda comeback delayed
Hiroshima veteran outfielder Tomonori Maeda's return from a broken wrist has been pushed back to around September, the Carp said Sunday.
The 42-year-old Maeda broke his left wrist in April, when he was slated to come back around the All-Star break.
But according to a team trainer, a routine checkup on Tuesday revealed Maeda was only 90 percent recovered and has begun hitting off a tee, with September looking like a more realistic return date.