A day after completing a big four-player trade, Yomiuri continued to make changes on Saturday, agreeing to sell veteran outfielder Takayuki Shimizu to the Saitama Seibu Lions.
The 35-year-old left-handed hitter with 1,402 career hits has been reduced to coming off manager Tatsunori Hara's bench the past two seasons.
Starting from his 1996 rookie season, Shimizu had 11 consecutive 100-plus game seasons. With a career batting average of .291, Shimizu gives the primarily right-handed-hitting PL champs some depth off the bench.