Japanese baseball star Otani to be out 6 weeks with injury (Yahoo Sports)

Japanese baseball player Shohei Otani will be sidelined for about six weeks because of a left-thigh muscle strain, his team said on Sunday. Otani, who is expected to move to Major League Baseball in 2018, hurt his left leg trying to beat out an infield single in the Nippon Ham Fighters' loss to the Orix BlueWave on Saturday. The injury will add further debate to Otani's insistence on batting as well as pitching.