In a tribute to the late great Wayne Grascyk, I’ll be headlining player movement stories under the rubric “The kotatsu league” as he used to refer to Japan’s version of the hot stove league. Had Wayne come to Japan in the years before the Vietnam War, he might have called it the hibachi league. But by the time he was steered to Fukuoka by the U.S. Air Force, those charcoal braziers used to heat kotatsu had been replaced by electric coils, but I digress.

Lions poised to re-sign Mejia

According to Sponichi Annex, the Seibu Lions are close to an agreement on a one-year deal in the neighborhood of 50 million yen (roughly $450,000) for first baseman Ernesto Mejia. The 34-year-old, who became the first player to win a home run title after signing a pro contract after the start of the season, spent most of the last two seasons of a lucrative three-year deal on the bench, displace by 2018 Pacific League MVP Hotaka Yamakawa.

Mejia’s NPB player page is HERE. The new offer could be a testimony to how the Lions perceive his value as a good teammate.

Bolsinger moving on from Marines

Nikkan Sports reported 31-year-old right-hander Mike Bolsinger will not be back with the Lotte Marines in 2020. He went 13-2 in his 2018 debut season but had injury issues in 2019.

He has said he is looking to catch on with another team in Japan.

Bolsinger’s NPB player page is HERE.