The Saitama Seibu Lions announced on Friday they made four signings, including two foreigners. Cory Spangenberg and Sean Nolin will be two newcomers with MLB experience joining the Lions in 2020 while Yuto Morikoshi arrives after being a Hanshin Tigers player for the last five seasons.
It was also announced that Ernesto Mejia will return to the Lions for a seventh season as both sides reached an agreement.
Spangenberg, who will be 29 in March, has six years in the Majors on his resume with 2019 being with the Milwaukee Brewers organization. He only played 32 games last year while hitting .232/.277/.358 in a part time role. In AAA, he thrived hitting .309/.378/.498 while also having 28 stolen bases.
He was originally a first round draft pick by the San Diego Padres in 2011 and had there of his five seasons with the team appearing in at least 100 games. His best year came in 2013, where he hit .271/.333/.399 in 108 games. Spangenberg was teammates with former Lions pitcher Kazuhisa Makita in 2018.
While he can play in the outfield, he saw a lot of time at 3B and 2B in San Diego. Spangenberg will make about $800,000 (¥86.4 million) for 2020.
Seibu Lions GM Hisanobu "Nabe-Q" Watanabe earlier hinted that the Lions wanted a position player who can play in both the outfield and infield. He even called Spangenberg a "Major League Shuta Tonosaki" as he played in the OF, SS, 2B and 3B throughout his career.
With this versatility similar to Tonosaki, the Lions will have flexibility to put both players wherever they please. If a young outfielder or infielder can establish himself, Spangenberg and Tonosaki can go elsewhere in the field from 2B, 3B or the OF. It's also possible to have Takeya "Okawari-kun" Nakamura as a DH while a regular 3B is starting everyday. On paper, the possibilities are endless while Spangenberg himself will not be judged by home runs, but rather stolen bases, hitting for average and getting on base.
Nolin, who turns 20 later this month, is remembered for being a highly touted pitching prospect in the Toronto Blue Jays organization and was part of a trade return for Josh Donaldson in 2014. Six prior to that, former Hanshin Tiger Matt Murton was part of a trade package that included Donaldson.
Injuries have hurt Nolin's career as he never stayed healthy and he most recently had Tommy John surgery to miss the 2017 season. His last year of MLB action was 2015, where he saw 29.1 IP with the Oakland Athletics with a 1-2 record and 5.28 ERA. Nolin has mostly bounced around the minors leagues and independent leagues while spending time with the Colorado Rockies, Seattle Mariners and Chicago White Sox organizations.
In 2019, he saw three short stints which included starting with the White Sox and having a productive middle with the independent league Long Island Ducks. With Long Island, he went 6-0 with a 1.10 ERA in eight games. His contract was purchased by the Seattle Mariners to end the year in AAA Tacoma, recording a 6-4 record and a 4.88 ERA in 79.1 innings.
With some overlapping involved, Nolin was teammates with current Seibu Lions pitcher Zach Neal at the AAA level (Nashville Sounds) in 2015. Both pitchers were at the MLB level in different years.
Nabe-Q said he is not a power pitcher saying how his velocity is around 90-93 mph, but can mix things up with curveballs, sliders and changeups to keep batters off balance. Nolin will make about $600,000 (¥64.8 million) for 2020. Nolin has been a starter for most of his career, but the Lions need help in both the rotation and bullpen. It's likely he'll get a shot as a starter first.
Morikoshi, 31, spent the last five seasons with the Hanshin Tigers, but only played 54 ichi-gun games in that span. He was originally drafted by the Chunichi Dragons in 2010, but only played 40 ichi-gun games for them from 2013-2014 before he was cut by the team. The Tigers picked him up after impressing in a tryout, but his career has always been in ni-gun or on the bench.
With Sosuke Genda being injured briefly at SS last season, the Lions depth at the position became weakened. Morikoshi will likely serve as a defensive replacement for the SS and 2B positions near the end of a game. Manager Hatsuhiko Tsuji was also a coach for the Dragons (2011-2014) during the early years of Morikoshi's career.
Mejia, 34, has been part of the Lions for the last six years, but spent the last two as a bench player and pinch hitter. Last year, he played 75 games with only six home runs. However, the team offered him a contract in 2020 for a much lower salary than last year and Mejia accepted it. With Hotaka Yamakawa coming off another Best IX season, Mejia won't be starting as a regular anytime soon.
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