Baseball in Japan & Around the World
The 180 is complete, at least for one year:Â Saburo has signed a 1-year, ï¿¥100M ($1M) contract to remain with the Chiba Lotte Marines. The birth of his third child next March and wanting to make up for last year’s 4th place finish were cited as the main factors in his decision. Â “The dream (of winning) with Lotte takes precendence over the dream (of playing) overseas,” said Saburo, adding, “after having a good season I’ll think it over again”.Â
Kenshin Kawakami is poised to make a move from Chunichi, but still undecided on whether to jump over to MLB or find a new employer in Japan. Hanshin is gearing up to make the first move by offering Kawakami a 4-year, 1.8B yen ($18M) deal. Said team president Shoji Numazawa: “we don’t intend to play a money game. We’re just attacking to the extent that is possible to acquire players, even if they are looking to the majors.” The Giants made a similar attempt to lure Kosuke Fukudome last year, but their offer was only about half what he wound up getting from the Cubs.
Unfortunately I don’t really see $4.5M/year getting it done for Kawakami; maybe if they bumped it up to $7M/year he’d have something to think about. So far the Braves and Red Sox have been most frequently linked to interest in Kawakami.
The NPB free agency filing period began yesterday, giving players eligible players 10 days to excercise free agency or stay put. In a shock to no one, Koji Uehara didn’t waste any time in informing the Yomiuri Giants of his intent to cross the Pacific. Uehara will become the second Giants star to move to MLB, after Hideki Matsui. Giants representative thanked Uehara for his 10 years of hard work for the team.
Uehara also announced that he has hired SFX to represent him in upcoming negotiations.
Speculation of Uehara’s destination has already begun. The Mets and Angels are reportedly interested in Uehara for a relief role, while the Orioles like him as a starter. Sponichi quotes Baltimore exec as saying, “There are a lot of good experienced professional players in Japan. Uehara? He’s one of them”. Sponichi also speculates that the Brewers might be a good fit given the potential departure of CC Sabathia.
My wild guess of a prediction for Uehara is the Cardinals. Dave Duncan has a way of getting the best of his staff, and the Cards could use him in a swingman role. What kind of contract he commands will really depend on whether teams view him as a starter or a reliever.