The biggest names in free agency, shortstop-wise, are Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins. But we might have forgotten to mention 29-year-old Hiroyuki Nakajima of the Seibu Lions in Japan.
The Lions agreed in the middle of November to post Nakajima and, according to the Japan Times, one team put a bid on the shortstop.
That team, according to Fox Sports, is the Giants. However, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Fox's report is inaccurate and the Giants were not the team that submitted a bid on Nakajima.
Regardless, as the Japan Times notes, someone did, which means Nakajima will likely play at the MLB level in 2012.
"I got one step closer to my dream of playing in the majors," Nakajima said Saturday.
The team that put a bid in on Nakajima will have 30 days to negotiate a contract with the shortstop. (And, for what it's worth, Troy Renck of The Denver Post reports that said team isn't the Rockies either.)
The 29-year-old Nakajima is older than the most recent Japanese shortstop to play in the bigs, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, but is believed to have more power than the Twins infielder.
Sports
Nakajima hit .297/.354/.433 with 16 home runs in 2011.
