[NPB NOTEBOOK] Marines Sign Former Cy Young Award Recipient Dallas Keuchel

The Chiba Lotte Marines, an NPB playoff contender, have signed former American League Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel, the Pacific League team announced on Tuesday, July 30.

"First of all, I'm grateful for this opportunity," Keuchel said in a statement released by the Marines. "I couldn't be happier and hope to help the team keep winning."

The Milwaukee Brewers designated the 36-year-old left-hander for assignment in mid-July.

Keuchel was acquired by Milwaukee in a trade with the Seattle Mariners.

In four starts with the Brewers, Keuchel posted a 5.40 ERA, allowing 10 runs and 23 hits in 16⅔ innings, without a decision. 

He was pitching for Seattle's Triple-A affiliate when the Brewers acquired him in late June. Milwaukee signed him to a major league deal worth a prorated portion of $1.5 million USD (¥224 million JPY).

Keuchel, who won the 2015 AL Cy Young Award with Houston, was 7-4 with a 3.93 ERA in 2024 with the Mariners' Triple-A affiliate in Tacoma, when he was acquired by Milwaukee.

The veteran lefty is 103-92 with 4.04 ERA in his 13-year major league career, with two All-Star appearances. He was 20-8 with a 2.43 ERA with Houston in 2015.

Keuchel Joins Marines After Departure of Dykstra, Fernandez

The Marines have been looking to shore up their starting rotation. On July 24, the team placed pitchers James Dykstra and Junior Fernandez on waivers.

Dykstra pitched in three games in the 2024 NPB season, going 1-0 with a 1.64 ERA. Fernandez never saw a mound appearance after having surgery in May.

Lotte is currently in second place in the Pacific League standings with a 49-39-6 record, 10 games behind the front-running Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (through games of Thursday, August 1).

"I'm looking forward to fighting with all our fans to win the league championship and become number one in Japan," added Keuchel.

Near No-No for Moinelo

Hawks pitcher Livan Moinelo took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on Tuesday, July 30 in Sendai.

Hideto Asamura broke up the no-no with a single to left that also drove in a run. 

Moinelo improved to 7-3 on the season after striking out five and giving up one run on one hit over seven complete innings on 95 pitches.

The Hawks beat the Eagles 10-1 with Hotaka Yamakawa leading the way with a three-run homer in the first and a two-run shot in the eighth.

Yamakawa now has a Pacific League-leading 18 homers.

Buffaloes Stumble in Post-Yamamoto Era

It's now fair to say the defending Pacific League champion Orix Buffaloes just aren't the same team this year without ace pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the off-season.

Heading into Tuesday's game with the Hokkaido Nipponham Fighters, which ended in a 3-3 draw, the Buffaloes had lost seven games in a row and had fallen into next-to-last place in the PL standings with a 40-48-2 record, 19 games behind SoftBank. (And as of August 1, their record was 40-50-3.)

Orix reached the Japan Series the last three seasons, winning the championship in 2022 when they beat the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.

While with the Buffaloes, Yamamoto was a three-time Pacific League MVP and a three-time Eiji Sawamura Award winner as NPB's top pitcher. 

Japanese players going to the major leagues is great, but it should be remembered it often takes a huge toll on their Japanese team. 

Ramirez to Lead Japan Team at 2025 Caribbean Series

Former Yokohama DeNA BayStars manager and NPB standout Alex Ramirez will serve as manager of a Japanese baseball team that will take part in the 2025 Caribbean Series.

The team, known as Japan Breeze, will be made up primarily of players from independent leagues and corporate baseball teams affiliated with the All Japan Baseball Federation.

At a joint press conference held by team officials and the Caribbean Series commissioner, Juan Francisco Puello Herrera, on Monday, July 29, the participation of the Japan Breeze was announced.

Ramirez also attended the press conference at a Yokohama hotel.

The participation of the Japan Breeze will mark the first time in the 75-year history of the tournament that a team from Asia has been invited. 

For the Breeze, their coaching staff will include veterans with experience in NPB and Major League Baseball.

The Caribbean Series began way back in 1949, and the tournament is currently managed by four major member countries: Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Puerto Rico.

Nicknamed "Rami-chan," Ramirez, a native of Venezuela, set the Central League record for most base hits in a single season with 204 when he played for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in 2007.

The record was later broken by Matt Murton in 2010 when he played for the Hanshin Tigers and had 214 hits.

Ramirez guided the BayStars to the Japan Series in 2017 where they lost to the Hawks 4-2

RELATED:

• [NPB NOTEBOOK] Hanshin Tigers Starter Hiroto Saiki is Excelling on the Mound
• [NPB NOTEBOOK] Solid Pitching the Key as Hiroshima Carp Climb up the CL Standings
  

Author: Jim Armstrong

The author is a longtime journalist who has covered sports in Japan for over 25 years. You can find his articles on SportsLook.