It’s a really thin market for middle infielders this winter. So thin that, if your team is in need of a shortstop, you may have come across the name Hiroyuki Nakajima on various message boards, blogs and other, less-reputable parts of the Internet where rumors and speculation flow thick. Nakajima plays for the Seibu Lions, he’s 28, he hits for power and gets on base and he reportedly wants to play in the United States.
But sorry, folks! Seibu has denied his request to be posted, which is the mechanism by which major league teams can pay for the privilege of negotiating with him. You’ll have to spend some time over at the excellent NPB Tracker to understand why this is. My guess, though: shortstops who can hit .300+ with power are just as rare in Japan as they are over here, and the Lions don’t want to part with him.
