Dragons Sign Matt Clark

According to several reports and his own twitter account, Matt Clark, a Padres farmhand will be a Chunichi Dragon in the very near future.  Clark is a first baseman and has played some outfield.  He's 26 years old and has spent the last two years with the AAA Tuscon Padres.  He's never appeared in a major league game, but his minor league numbers are solid.  Had the Padres not had so many other 1B prospects he probably would have gotten a look in the majors, he has attended major league spring training.  It sounds like he's most known for his power and for being somewhat strikeout-prone, but his overall batting average and on-base percentage numbers look plenty good.  Here's a video about him from last year:

It's been reported that former Dragon and current professional hitting coach Alonzo Powell may be involved with the acquisition.  According to yakyubaka Powell has also been invited to be a special instructor at the Dragons' Spring Camp, something that could help with Clark's acclimation to Japan.  Clark is a little younger than most foreign players who come to the NPB and may still have a shot at the majors should he succeed in Japan, so he's got a lot to play for.  As far as how he would fit on the Dragons, if he can do for Chunichi what he's done for the Tuscon Padres the last two years, he will fill the power bat, first base hole that was left by Tony Blanco's move to Yokohama.  From what I've been reading, he sounds like a good guy and ready to go wherever baseball leads him.  I'm excited to see what he can do in 2013.

Here's a link to an interview with Clark from last year here.

Update: The deal is official