Tim Dierkes of MLBTradeRumors.com reports that Lastings Milledge has re-signed with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Japan's Central League on a three-year, $4.4 million deal.

The deal also includes a mutual option for 2016. It's been quite a fall from grace for Milledge, who was ranked by Baseball America prior to 2006 as the No. 9 prospect in baseball. The former first-round pick will turn just 28 in April.

According to Sanspo.com, Lastings Milledge has signed with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Japan's Central League.

The report was passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. Milledge, 26, will earn approximately $570,000 next season while the contract includes a club option for a second year. The former top prospect batted .295/.364/.441 with 12 homers and 27 steals over 444 at-bats with Triple-A Charlotte in the White Sox organization this past season.

Lastings Milledge has signed a two-year contract with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of the Nippon Professional Baseball league.

Milledge batted .295/.364/.441 with 12 homers and 27 steals over 444 at-bats for Triple-A Charlotte this year, but that evidently wasn't enough to draw much interest from major league clubs. Just 26, he has time to return to the states after hoping to making an impact overseas.

Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus is hearing that Lastings Milledge could sign with a Japanese club this offseason.

Milledge batted .295/.364/.441 with 12 homers and 27 steals over 444 at-bats for Triple-A Charlotte this year but received just four at-bats with the White Sox. He'll turn just 27 at the beginning of next season, but it might not be a bad idea for Milledge to take a higher salary in Japan and hope that a big year will drum up more interest in him next offseason.

Former White Sox OF Lastings Milledge has elected to become a minor league free agent.

Still just 26, Milledge made it up for just four at-bats with the White Sox this season but had a nice year for Triple-A Charlotte, hitting .295/.364/.441 with 12 homers and 27 steals over 444 at-bats. Though it's clear that he'll never match the hype he received as a prospect, Milledge has shown enough at the big league level that he should get a shot with someone again eventually.

White Sox sent OF Lastings Milledge outright to Triple-A Charlotte.

Milledge successfully cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. The 26-year-old former top prospect will almost certainly return to the major league level at some point this season, but he's unlikely to be a fantasy asset.

The White Sox are hoping OF Lastings Milledge will clear waivers and accept an assignment to Triple-A Charlotte after getting designated for assignment on Thursday.

If that ends up being the case, Milledge will surely get another look in the big leagues with Chicago this season, but after posting a strong spring and nice 2010 splits against left-handed pitching, he may actually generate some interest on the open market. Either way, he can be safely ignored in all fantasy leagues for the foreseeable future.

White Sox designated OF Lastings Milledge for assignment.

Well, that didn't take long. Milledge made his first start of the season in left field Wednesday and looked very shaky defensively. Apparently the White Sox have already seen enough. Now 26 years old, we're sure he'll latch on somewhere, but he continues to be a disappointment.

Lastings Milledge will make his first start of the season in left field Wednesday against the Royals.

Milledge figures to get some more playing time with Adam Dunn on the shelf after undergoing an emergency appendectomy early Wednesday morning. With Milledge in left field, Juan Pierre will move to the designated hitter spot.

White Sox purchased the contract of OF Lastings Milledge.

Milledge posted a healthy .305/.425/.525 slash line in 59 at-bats this spring to earn Chicago's final bench spot. He will serve as a utility outfielder this season.

It's possible both Lastings Milledge and Brent Lillibridge could be part of the White Sox' Opening Day roster.

It had been assumed that they were battling for the final spot on the bench, but manager Ozzie Guillen is evidently flirting with the idea of carrying 11 pitchers and going with an extra bat. If that's the way they end up going, Jeff Marquez would lose a spot. Milledge is batting .315 with four home runs and 12 RBI this spring, but he also has an option left and can't play the infield and outfield like Lillibridge, which could hurt him.

Lastings Milledge erupted against the Rockies on Thursday, homering twice while posting three hits, three RBI and three runs.

He also drew a walk. Entering his age-26 season as the owner of just 33 career home runs through 1,655 plate appearances, Milledge is unlikely to ever be a legitimate source of power. However, he managed to post a .414 OBP and .926 OPS in 145 plate appearances against lefties last year, and could prove to be a pretty valuable weapon off of Chicago's bench in 2011.

White Sox signed OF Lastings Milledge to a minor league contract.

The contract includes an invite to spring training. Milledge, who turns 26 in April, was left unsigned all winter, possibly due to character concerns that have followed him for a few years now. He batted .277/.332/.380 with four home runs and 32 RBI with the Pirates last season, including a .320 batting average and .926 OPS against southpaws. It's a pretty low risk move, even with the supposed baggage.

Lastings Milledge was involved in an on-field fight this weekend in the Venezuelan Winter League.

Probably not a good move by the free agent outfielder, who already carries a bad reputation. According to ESPN New York's Adam Rubin, Milledge doubled in the fourth inning then mimicked a celebratory grenade throw into his team's dugout. He was plunked in the seventh inning by the opposition, but stole second immediately and set off a benches-clearing brawl. Milledge was non-tendered by the Pirates earlier this month after an impressive 2010 and has not drawn much free agent interest. This certainly won't help.

Pirates non-tendered OF Lastings Milledge.

A mild surprise. Milledge is only 25 and showed flashes of quality production in 2010, but the Bucs deemed him unworthy of the slight raise that he would have earned from the $452,000 that he earned this year. He's still a talent and should draw multiple offers from big league clubs.

Lastings Milledge (oblique) has been taking swings in a batting cage and is still hopeful of playing this year.

The Pirates unofficially shut him down in mid-September, but Milledge continues to work hard and could play in the final two or three games of the regular season. "The next step is to get him out there for batting practice," Bucs manager John Russell said. "If we can get it to that point, there could be a possibility he could play before the season's over."

Lastings Milledge may be shut down for the rest of the season due to a pulled muscle in his side.

Milledge hasn't played since September 13 and is batting just .277/.332/.280 with four homers in 379 at-bats this season. Shutting him down would clear up playing time for more deserving players.

Pirates manager John Russell said that Lastings Milledge will be the regular right fielder moving forward, ending a platoon with the struggling Ryan Church.

"Lastings has earned it," said Russell. "It's not about Church. It's about what Lastings has been able to show, how he's handled it, and that he looks like he's ready." It's really about time. Though Milledge only has three home runs this season, he did go deep in back-to-back games before the break. While he is batting .276 this season -- and .326 since the start of June -- Church is batting .186 on the year. If Russell sticks with his plan, it wouldn't be a shock to see Milledge emerge as an option in deeper leagues.

Lastings Milledge hit a solo home run and stole a base against the Brewers on Sunday.

He also singled and walked in the contest. Milledge is still plenty young at just 25 years old, but with just three homers and five steals on the season he's yet to show any significant value for fantasy leaguers. That all three homers have come in the last nine games is a positive, but we'll need to see more before recommending Milledge.

Lastings Milledge finished 3-for-4 with four RBI in the Pirates' 6-4 defeat of the Indians on Saturday night in Pittsburgh.

Milledge also drew a walk and scored a run in the winning effort. He is batting a pedestrian .276/.350/.369 this season with zero home runs, so he's not exactly a fantasy option. But he played the hero for one night.