2 Japanese Pitchers on the Market

[DBAHO]

Firstly a bit about the SP;

 

Japanese newspaper Sports Nippon reports that RHP Kenshin Kawakami has hired an American agent and plans to pursue an MLB career in 2009.

The 33-year-old Kawakami has a career mark of 112-72 with a 3.22 ERA, and went 9-5 with a 2.30 ERA for the Chunichi Dragons this season. Several months ago Kawakami was said to be interested in pitching for the Red Sox and Boston has once again been linked to him recently. He profiles as a potential mid-rotation starter, perhaps similar to Hiroki Kuroda.

 

Considering the success that Kuroda had this season, the Sox could maybe decide to trade Vazquez for prospects or pre - arbitration players at the major league level, and make a run at Kawakami possibly?

[Milkman delivers]

Why did you post the second one when it says he will not go to the MLB?

[DBAHO]

Why did you post the second one when it says he will not go to the MLB?

Oops.

 

I thought I saw on Rotoworld in a story today that 2 pitchers from Japan were going to hit FA.

 

Lemme check that.

[DBAHO]

It's Koji Uehara;

 

Koji Uehara and Kenshin Kawakami were officially granted free agency Monday, according to the Japanese baseball commissioner's office.

 

The NPB announced earlier this year that the requirement for free agency would go from nine years of service time down to eight, but both Uehara and Kawakami were over nine years now anyway. Had the change been made a year earlier, both would probably be pitching in the U.S. already. They might be the only two big names to come over this year.

[Kalapse]

If they have over 8 years of service in Japan and are now free agents then they're not being "posted" they're just free agents like any other player. There's a BIG difference between a posted player and a free agent.

 

If a player is posted then you have to pay a fee (usually substantial if the player is any good) to his Japanese team just to receive exclusive rights to talk to the player with no real guarantee that he'll sign. A free agent is a free agent, no posting fee necessary.

[Kyyle23]

What is going on with that 21 year old "next big thing" guy who is trying to avoid the japanese draft and come directly to the MLB?

[DBAHO]

If they have over 8 years of service in Japan and are now free agents then they're not being "posted" they're just free agents like any other player. There's a BIG difference between a posted player and a free agent.

 

If a player is posted then you have to pay a fee (usually substantial if the player is any good) to his Japanese team just to receive exclusive rights to talk to the player with no real guarantee that he'll sign. A free agent is a free agent, no posting fee necessary.

Yeah I just realized that also (that was with Ichiro and Matsuzuka back in the day).

 

Basically the same sort of situation as when we signed Iguchi about 4 years.

 

It's something KW should look at anyways.

[ThunderBolt]

What is going on with that 21 year old "next big thing" guy who is trying to avoid the japanese draft and come directly to the MLB?

You mean Yu Darvish?

[witesoxfan]

Firstly a bit about the SP;

 

 

 

Considering the success that Kuroda had this season, the Sox could maybe decide to trade Vazquez for prospects or pre - arbitration players at the major league level, and make a run at Kawakami possibly?

 

Japanese pitchers, regardless of their Japanese track record, have always been pretty hit or miss. The best ones usually stick around but there have been quite a few stinkers recently and it's scary to give a multi-year guarantee to a pitcher who you have no idea how he will respond to MLB hitting.

[bighurt4life]

You mean Yu Darvish?

 

He's talking about a different guy. Yu Darvish has already been in the Japanese pro league for a few years and probably won't ever come to the states as he's a multimedia mega superstar in Japan. There is an amateur who is signing or trying to sign in the states by using a loophole in the system that the Japanese leagues are probably going to close.

[DBAHO]

Japanese pitchers, regardless of their Japanese track record, have always been pretty hit or miss. The best ones usually stick around but there have been quite a few stinkers recently and it's scary to give a multi-year guarantee to a pitcher who you have no idea how he will respond to MLB hitting.

I think that's more relievers than starting pitchers though, or at least in recent times.

 

Still if you looked at Kuroda though, his ERA and BAA did rise in the 2nd half of the season.

 

But I think if you could trade Vazquez for young pitching, and then signed this Japanese starter on a 3 year deal, you're basically adding more assets to your team, and plus you don't have to give up any draft picks to sign him either.

[rackemup]

Per Rotoworld

Junichi Tazawa-S-Player Oct. 30 - 10:00 am et

After asking teams not to select him because he wants to pursue an MLB career, 22-year-old RHP Junichi Tazawa went undrafted in the Japanese amateur draft Thursday.

"I'm very relieved," Tazawa said. "I was very nervous right up until the end of the draft." Japanese players must play nine professional seasons before being eligible for free agency and bypassing that route means that Tazawa faces a three-year ban if he returns to Japan after playing elsewhere. However, with reports of a mid-90s fastball and several MLB teams already scouting him Tazawa will likely have no trouble landing a long-term deal.

Source: ESPN.com

[ThunderBolt]

Per Rotoworld

Junichi Tazawa-S-Player Oct. 30 - 10:00 am et

After asking teams not to select him because he wants to pursue an MLB career, 22-year-old RHP Junichi Tazawa went undrafted in the Japanese amateur draft Thursday.

"I'm very relieved," Tazawa said. "I was very nervous right up until the end of the draft." Japanese players must play nine professional seasons before being eligible for free agency and bypassing that route means that Tazawa faces a three-year ban if he returns to Japan after playing elsewhere. However, with reports of a mid-90s fastball and several MLB teams already scouting him Tazawa will likely have no trouble landing a long-term deal.

Source: ESPN.com

I hear that the kid tops out at 97 with decent control, and some more then passable breaking stuff. He sounds like he'd be a decent investment. That being said, i'm not sure he's low enough on the radar for Kenny to steal him away from the larger market teams.

[Kyyle23]

Per Rotoworld

Junichi Tazawa-S-Player Oct. 30 - 10:00 am et

After asking teams not to select him because he wants to pursue an MLB career, 22-year-old RHP Junichi Tazawa went undrafted in the Japanese amateur draft Thursday.

"I'm very relieved," Tazawa said. "I was very nervous right up until the end of the draft." Japanese players must play nine professional seasons before being eligible for free agency and bypassing that route means that Tazawa faces a three-year ban if he returns to Japan after playing elsewhere. However, with reports of a mid-90s fastball and several MLB teams already scouting him Tazawa will likely have no trouble landing a long-term deal.

Source: ESPN.com

 

This is who I was thinking about, although Yu Darvish was the name I remembered. I knew that the player was trying to use the same loophole that Hideo Nomo(or maybe it was someone else) used to get to the US

[DBAHO]

I wonder what type of contract he'll get.

 

Wouldn't surprise me if Seattle traded Bedard, and made a big run at Tazawa possibly.

[Texsox]

Japanese pitchers, regardless of their Japanese track record, have always been pretty hit or miss. The best ones usually stick around but there have been quite a few stinkers recently and it's scary to give a multi-year guarantee to a pitcher who you have no idea how he will respond to MLB hitting.

 

Fixed, but point taken and agreed.

[ThunderBolt]

So, Junichi Tazawa features a Fastball, Curve, slider and a change. There's some video of him on youtube if anyone's interested. He's about 5’11” / 180 lbs, but generates decent power from his delivery