Southpaw Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi on Tuesday signed a two-year contract with the Hanshin Tigers worth 300 million yen including performance-based incentives, baseball officials said.
Shimoyanagi, who went 10-5 with a 3.73 ERA in 26 games and pitched 137 2/3 innings last season, re-signed with the Central League club as a free agent after failing to land a deal with a major league team and also being pursued by the Yokohama BayStars.
"Hanshin was eager to sign me and that helped me (make my decision). I have no personal goals but to win both the league and Japan Series championships," said the 35-year-old who also has playing experience with the Daiei Hawks and the Nippon Ham Fighters.
The Chiba Lotte Marines said they have agreed to a contract with former Atlanta Braves infielder Matt Franco for the 2004 season and have signed him to a one-year deal carrying 80 million yen, including a signing bonus.
The 34-year-old Franco, a left-handed batter, has batted .267 with 22 homers and 117 RBIs in 661 major league games over his career and played under Bobby Valentine while with the New York Mets for six seasons from 1996.