The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters are close to an agreement with outfielder Terrmel Sledge, who played for the San Diego Padres this year, baseball sources said Thursday. Nippon Ham hopes Sledge will fill the void left by Fernando Seguignol, who left the Pacific League club earlier in the offseason after playing for four seasons at the heart of its lineup. Sledge, 30, hit .210 with seven homers in 100 games this year with the Padres.
