Hawaii Winter Baseball returns in a little more than two weeks with a couple of tweaks.

The developmental league for prospects starts Sept. 29 with a doubleheader at Hans L'Orange Park in Waipahu with the same four teams. The North Shore Honu will play the West Oahu CaneFires at noon, while the Honolulu Sharks play the Waikiki BeachBoys at 6 p.m.

League president Hervy Kurisu said 24 of the 30 major league teams will contribute players, up three from last season. But only seven of the 12 teams from Nippon Professional Baseball will send players, down three from a year ago. After meeting with Major League Baseball personnel at the Winter baseball meetings and visiting Japan to meet each organization there, Kurisu had said all 30 MLB teams and all 12 NPB teams showed interest in providing players. He does not know why six MLB clubs and the three NPB teams, which sent players last year, had a change of heart.

"Some teams are sending plenty (players)," Kurisu said of the MLB clubs. "They readjusted their budget. I give 'em credit. They've supported us. In that respect, we're really appreciative."

He said the Los Angeles Dodgers are planning to send seven players, while the Rockies are hoping to assign six.

The Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are not sending players. Japan's Yomiuri Giants, SoftBank Hawks and Chunichi Dragons will not send players after doing so last year. The Hiroshima Toyo Carp and Yokohama BayStars will continue not to send players.

The league is expected to announce rosters later this week. There will be 28 players per team. Kurisu said there will be some returning players, such as outfielder Cole Garner (Rockies), pitchers Mark Melancon (Yankees) and Shane Lindsay (Rockies), and catcher Kenley Jansen (Dodgers).

Kurisu said one of the newcomers is catcher Matt Wieters (Orioles), who signed just before the Aug. 15 deadline. He was the fifth overall pick of the June draft. Also, pitcher Jared Lansford (Athletics) has been assigned here, according to the organization reports in Baseball America Online. Lansford is the son of former big-league third baseman Carney Lansford.

The managers have been selected. Donovan Mitchell (Mets), of the Rookie Appalachian League Kingsport (Tenn.), will manage the BeachBoys; Jim Garbella (Royals), of the Low-A Midwest League Burlington (Iowa), will manage the CaneFires; Kevin Bradshaw (Tigers), of the High-A Florida State League Lakeland (Fla.), will manage the Honu; and Randy Ingle (Braves), of the Low-A South Atlantic League Rome (Ga.), will manage the Sharks.

No one with ties to Hawai'i will manage or coach. Last year, Lenn Sakata (Kalani '72) managed the BeachBoys and Mike Lum (Roosevelt '63) was a coach for the Honu.

All games on O'ahu will be played at Hans L'Orange Park. Last year, half the games were played at Les Murakami Stadium, which is unavailable because of turf installation. The trade-off is the Big Island and Maui will each get six games. Maui (Stingrays) and the Big Island (Stars) had teams in the original HWB (1993 to 1997). The league will pay for the air travel and hotel costs, as well as planned tours for the teams.

"When we go to the outer islands, we'll take them on tours of the volcano (on the Big Island) and Haleakala to enhance the experience," Kurisu said. "You can't get this kind of experience in any other league."

The league has also secured the use of Patsy T. Mink Central O'ahu Regional Park for pre-game workouts for the designated visiting teams, Kurisu said. The coaching personnel is expected to arrive Sept. 22 with the players arriving three days later. As with last year, the players will stay in a hotel the first few days, but by the season opener, they must find their own housing. Last year, most of the players found rentals in Waikiki.

Because the league anticipates the noon starts to affect attendance, it is working with the Japan Travel Bureau on a tour package that includes shopping at the Waikele outlet stores and attending the noon games.

"We'll give them the option to take in a game at Hans," Kurisu said. "We're also providing them an opportunity to meet the Japanese players before the game."

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.