Mets' pen adds Japanese righty

[Pierzynski 12]

The Mets continued stockpiling pitchers yesterday by signing Japanese righthander Yusaku Iriki to a one-year contract, giving them someone Iriki's former manager calls "a hard-nosed guy who pitches with his hair on fire."

 

"He's max effort and gives you everything he has," Trey Hillman, the manager of the Nippon Ham Fighters, where Iriki pitched last season, added in an E-mail message.

 

Hillman, a former manager in the Yankees' minor-league system, also wrote that he spoke to Met manager Willie Randolph yesterday before the deal was done and told Randolph, "I think he'd help in some way."

 

The Mets inked the 33-year-old to add versatility to their staff, according to GM Omar Minaya. Iriki can start or relieve, but he seems more likely to contribute for the Mets out of the bullpen.

 

"We saw film on him and we checked with our scouts and it was worth taking a chance on him," Minaya said. The Mets gave Iriki a one-year contract that's worth $750,000 and includes two club options.

 

Iriki was 6-7 with a 3.35 ERA last season for the Ham Fighters, finishing ninth in the Pacific League in ERA. He was also 10th in the league in strikeouts with 122 in 150 2/3 innings. He is 35-35 with a 3.73 ERA in his eight-year career, which also includes time with the Yomiuri Giants, where he was a teammate of the Yankees' Hideki Matsui. His best season in Japan came in 2001 when he was 13-4 with a 3.71 ERA for Yomiuri.

 

Last season, Iriki made 20 starts and eight relief appearances for Hillman. "He'll take the ball any time he is asked and in any role," Hillman wrote. "I'm very sorry we lost him."

 

Iriki said it was always a goal of his to pitch in the majors, but there were no bidders when he went through the posting system, which is part of the agreement between Major League Baseball and the professional leagues of Japan. There was a clause in his contract that enabled him to become a free agent and the Mets became interested about a month ago, Minaya said.

 

"I'm so happy, I could go out and pitch right now," said Iriki, who was making his first trip to New York.

 

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