Italian right-hander Alessandro Maestri has to take a step back for the moment. The former Minor Leaguer with the Chicago Cubs who played the past two and a half years for the ORIX Buffaloes in Nippon Professional Baseball has signed with an independent league team in Japan. He is going to pitch for the Gunma Diamond Pegasus in the Baseball Challenge League. In 2012 he already played in a similar league with the Kagawa Olive Guyners. Last year he had an ERA of 3.19 in the NPB.