This is a site about Pro Yakyu (Japanese Baseball), not about who the next player to go over to MLB is. It's a community of Pro Yakyu fans who have come together to share their knowledge and opinions with the world. It's a place to follow teams and individuals playing baseball in Japan (and Asia), and to learn about Japanese (and Asian) culture through baseball.
It is my sincere hope that once you learn a bit about what we're about here that you will join the community of contributors.
Michael Westbay
(aka westbaystars)
Founder
Earlier rumors stated that Seibu were going after Nori Nakamura, then Ochiai said that they made a last minute move to put Nori on the protected roster. After that, most people thought that Seibu would go after inconsistent young starter Mitsuru Satoh or often injured former #1 pick Atsushi Nakazato.
Chunichi probably thinks that they're going to lose Okamoto eventually to free agency, so they might as well lose him now. Okamoto has made at least 40 appearances each year since 2003 and has been very consistent for the Dragons as a regular reliever. This is a big pick up for Seibu, as they could possibly use Okamoto as the closer they've so desperately needed since Kiyoshi Toyoda left.