Bench coach Koichi Ogata will take over as Hiroshima Carp manager after accepting an offer to replace Kenjiro Nomura, the Central League club said Tuesday.
Nomura announced last week he would step down after the post season.
Nomura guided Hiroshima to third place in the Central League for the second year in a row, but the Carp lost to Hanshin Tigers in the first stage of the CL Climax Series playoffs on Sunday.
Ogata will be unveiled as new manager at a news conference on Wednesday.
Ogata joined Hiroshima as a third-round draft pick in 1987 and had the most stolen bases in the league for three seasons in a row from 1995. He became a coach after retiring as a player in 2009.