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The Saitama Seibu Lions reached an agreement with infielder David MacKinnon on Tuesday as Ken Rosenthal first reported. It became official later in the day.
MacKinnon, 28, appeared in 22 MLB games combined with both the Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics last season.
He made his debut with the Angels after having a strong season in AAA Salt Lake City. As a result of being called up, he was teammates with Shohei Ohtani for about two months and recorded seven hits in 64 at-bats.
After being designated for assignment in August, he was claimed off waivers by the Oakland A's. After a decent week in AAA Las Vegas, the A's started him twice and he appeared in only six games, mostly as a defensive replacement.
MacKinnon was teammates with now-Hanshin Tigers IF Sheldon Neuse and was even on the field when the latter was a pitcher briefly. He was designated for assignment after the 2022 season an non-tendered by the A's.
In his combined AAA season, he had a slashline of .318/.416/.585 with 15 home runs in 79 games.
He was originally a 32nd round draft pick of the Angels in 2017 out of college.
While MacKinnon played only 3B and 1B at the MLB level, he's capable of playing outfield. The Lions can slot him in left field where Brian O'Grady was last season or can have him be a 3B hoping to find a consistent bat. MacKinnon should also spell Hotaka Yamakawa at 1B if they want an all-defense in the late innings.
MacKinnon is the second foreign signing by the Lions after Jesus Tinoco.
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