The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters announced Monday the acquisition of utility player Jose Macias, who played for the Chicago Cubs last year.
Macias, a 33-year-old who plays second and third base as well as outfield, has played a total of 659 games in the major leagues with the Detroit Tigers, Montreal Expos and Cubs with a .256 batting average, 26 homers and 173 RBIs.
He has been named to the provisional roster of Panama for the World Baseball Classic, a World Cup-style tournament to be held in March.
Nippon Ham also announced the retirement of pitcher Tsutomu Iwamoto, who was released after the 2005 season.
Iwamoto, 34, posted a 63-79 record in 239 games in his 16-year career.