The 55-year history of the Kintetsu Buffaloes came to an end Tuesday on the eve of the inauguration of the Orix Buffaloes created by the merger of Kintetsu and the Orix BlueWave.
Financial services firm Orix will have a controlling stake in the Pacific League team following the merger designed to bail out the financially struggling Kintetsu group.
The Buffaloes' office in Osaka will be open through March.
Elsewhere, The Hanshin Tigers said Tuesday they have acquired right-hander Darwin Cubillan on a one-year deal carrying $300,000 each in signing bonus and annual salary.
Cubillan, a 32-year-old Venezuelan, has pitched in 56 MLB games as a reliever in stints with the Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles.
In other baseball news, The Yomiuri Giants plan to play day games at Tokyo Dome next season for the first time in 14 years.
A club representative said Monday that "six or more games" would be shifted from night to day on Sundays.