JAPAN – An array of teams from Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB) are set to have direct talks with prized Japanese southpaw Yusei Kikuchi and Hanamaki Higashi High School skipper Hiroshi Sasaki.

The talented 18-year-old hurler and his prep coach will meet for 30 minutes with 12 NPB clubs and eight MLB organizations. The Seibu Lions, Hanshin Tigers, Orix Buffaloes and the Yomiuri Giants will make presentations on Friday with the final eight Japanese clubs following a day later.

Kikuchi will talk with four major league clubs, including the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox, on Monday while the New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners are among the remaining four teams who are on the list for Tuesday.

NPB teams, which are not allowed to table their offers before Japan’s amateur draft on Oct. 29, have demanded that major league clubs not make an offer until after the Japanese draft.

Junichi Tazawa became the first top Japanese amateur prospect to bypass the NPB draft last year when he signed a thee-year deal with the Boston Red Sox.

GREISINGER DOUBTFUL FOR PLAYOFFS

Yomiuri Giants right-hander Seth Greisinger (pictured) might be left out of the rotation for the Central League playoffs after reinjuring his pitching elbow on Wednesday in a simulated game at the Tokyo Dome.

Greisinger, who was scheduled to pitch to eighth teammates, suffered a right elbow strain after throwing two pitches to the fourth batter.

Greisinger, who went 13-6 with a 3.47 ERA in 25 starts this season, said he did not want to aggravate the injury and his status in the Climax Series second stage beginning Oct. 21 depended on his progress during treatment.

Photo courtesy of mytigerstuff.com

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Tags: Japan