Rakuten Eagles Mining Mexico for Players
The Rakuten Eagles had already signed Mexican Winter League homerun champ Luis Garcia in mid season. He went on to hit .261 with eight homeruns in 88 games. His slugging average of .383 was a huge disappointment, but coming during the middle of the season probably took some adjusting.
That did not deter the Eagles from giving Mexican Summer League MVP Luis Terrero a tryout. As reported by http://yakyubaka.com/2011/11/20/nikkan-sports-luis-enrique-terrero-passes-tryout-with-rakuten-eagles/ he passed after just seven minutes of swinging the bat. Terrero slugged 38 homeruns in 97 games in the Mexican League in 2011, batting .390 with a .485 OBA and .775 slugging percentage. He also stole 30 bases in 40 attempts. In 2010 Terrero played in the Cincinnati Reds minor league system. Having both Terrero and Garcia on the team should make the adjustment to Japanese life much easier for the two.
It is unclear whether the Eagles have come to contract terms with Terrero, but at 32 in 2012 he is young enough to contribute offensively to the team. They will probably lose pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma to free agency, but they can replace his loss by improving their offensive production.