Looks like the Hisanori Takahashi saga may be drawing to a close — and that’s OK with me.
Sports Hochi said that of the teams that moved on Takahashi, only the Mets and Dodgers are left in the running. Hochi doesn’t mention the Pirates, but says that the Twins were interested, which I hadn’t heard before.
Takahashi seems to be accepting the fact that he’ll likely have to spend a some time in 3A, and is prioritizing teams that will give him a chance to be promoted to the majors as a starter.
If you find yourself in the minority of people who are more interested in where Hisanori Takahashi winds up than the Super Bowl, this one’s for you.
Sanspo has published a report saying that the Pirates have suddenly emerged as a destination for Takahashi. I’d read earlier that Takahashi prefers the west coast, but he’s also been saying all offseason that he wants a major league deal and wants to start. The Pirates don’t exactly have the strongest rotation in the world, so it’s feasible that they could have MLB starts to offer him this season. Bringing in Takahashi may work for the Pirates if he can eat up a few innings and buy them some time with some of their prospects, plus Aki Iwamura is around to ease his transition. But, you know, that sounds pretty stopgap-ish, and if you’re going to be a stopgap, why not be one in San Diego? Assuming the opportunity is available, of course.
Sanspo also runs down the latest status from Takahahi’s other suitors:
The Giants made an offer, but never heard back
The Dodgers are targeting other pitchers
The Mets were moving towards a MLB contract, but couldn’t reach a compromise on money
The Orioles were very interested but went in a different direction because Takahashi’s demands were too high
Finally, Sponichi says that Takahashi has traveled to Arizona, and was planning to throw for scouts today.
For the second year in a row, we have a lefthander named Takahashi looking for an MLB job. We could have had two, but Ken decided early in the offseason to return to Hiroshima. So here’s the latest on Hisanori:
Offer the weekend, multiple sources reported that Takahashi revealed that he had a major league contract offer, but didn’t say which team it was from. This report from Sports Hochi says that the Angels had been interested, but I think they may be overthinking Takahashi’s Hideki Matsui connection.
Sponichi just published a report saying that there’s a growing possibility that the Orioles will make Takahashi an official offer in the next few days. Baltimore has another former teammate, Koji Uehara, under contract.
The respective markets for Ryota Igarashi and Hisanori Takahashi seem to be heating up.
First on Igarashi… I’ve seen Arn Tellem quoted in a couple of places as saying “discussions are progressing. It looks like we’ll have a decision sooner than I thought.” Here’s the breakdown:
An earlier Hochi report said that Igarashi’s camp negotiated with the Orioles on the 9th, who would pair him up in the bullpen with Koji Uehara. Hochi also named the Padres and Diamondbacks as interested.
Sponichi throws the Yankees in the mix, saying that he could backfill for Brian Bruney or, in the event he is traded, Joba Chamberlain. This feels the most speculative of the rumors we have so far, but Sponichi does quote the projected line on Igarashi’s contract is two years, $2-3m. It wasn’t clear if that $2-3m is annual or cumulative, but either way, two years at $1-3m seems like a reasonable range.
Takahashi is getting less ink but things do seems to be starting to move for him.
The MLB offseason is heating up, and figures to kick into full gear when the Winter Meetings open on Monday. As usual, there will be a number of story lines involving Japanese teams and players this year.
Hideki Matsui is the top Japanese name this offseason. His situation will evolve as talks with the Yankees occur and other key veteran sluggers find 2010 employers. Reports last week stated that agent Arn Tellem could call Matsui in anytime during the week, and Matsui has delayed his return to Japan to accommodate. Expect a full contingent of Japanese media keep the rumor mill jam-packed until this guy signs.
We could wind up with a better sense on the market for Ryota Igarashi and Hisanori Takahashi. The market will be stronger for Igarashi, and the righty is already training in Arizona.
NPB foreign player rosters are filling up, but we frequently hear about a guy or two moving from MLB or affiliated ball over to Japan during the Winter Meetings.
Our own Ryo Shinkawa will be on the ground at this year’s Winter Meetings.
There’s no indication of whether the O’s view Takahashi as a starter or reliever, but international scouting director John Stockstill said that if the team does make him an offer, it won’t be until January. Baltimore has become active in the Japanese free agent market; last year they were in on Kenshin Kawakami, were the only MLB to look at Ryoji Aikawa, and eventually signed Uehara and Ryohei Tanaka. I could see them picking up Hideki Matsui this offseason as well.
Despite the fact that we’ve known for some time that Hisanori Takahashi would a candidate to jump to MLB this offseason, the Yomiuri lefty hasn’t gotten much virtual ink on this site. I’ve actually had a draft profile on him sitting un-started since June, but time has been an issue this year and I’ve prioritized other content.
Instead of an in-depth profile, I’ll give a quick bird’s eye view of Takahashi and his MLB credentials:
Turns 35 on April 2, 2010
Is coming off a solid 2009 campaign: 10-6, 2.94 ERA, 121/36 K/BB in 144 IP
Made 135m yen ($1.3m) in 2009
Started pro career in 2000 at age 26, after playing both college and industrial league ball
Isn’t going to overwhelm anyone with an 85-90 mph fastball
Has an excellent screwball, which he induces grounders and misses bats with; should be a plus pitch at the MLB level as well
Also has a two-seam fastball, slider and curve; the two-seamer is a pretty good pitch
No shortage of velocity info on him at our data site (note: screwball shows up as a “sinker” on in our data; two-seam as “shuuto”)
Has never been a huge innings eater in Japan: career high is 186.2 IP (2007), has twice thrown 163 (2002, 2005), next highest total is 144 (2009)
Was not a lefty killer in 2009: lefties hit .300 against him (48/160), while holding righties to .250 (99/396)
Did keep lefties in the park in 2009: only three of his 16 home runs allowed came against lefties
Is represented by Peter Greenberg, who gotanother Takahashi (Ken) a deal with the Blue Jays and later the Mets last year, and recently lost Hideki Okajima. Had he kept Okajima, Greenberg could have really cornered the market on Japanese lefties
Takahashi has said he wants to continue in a starting role after he crosses the Pacific, but putting everything together he seems better suited for the bullpen. That said, assuming his screwball doesn’t get lost in translation, I don’t see why he can’t be an effective reliever in the Okajima mold.
So far the Giants and Rangers have been noted in the Japanese media as interested, though I suspect the Rangers will come up for everyone because of Jim Colborn’s presence. Takahashi himself has said that he would like to wind up on the same team as former Yomiuri teammate Hideki Matsui, but the NL West would likely be the most amenable destination for him.
Out of the 87 players eligible to file for free agency this off-season, only five players filed for free agency including Ryota Igarashi and Hisanori Takahashi declaring as international free agents.
The other three players filing for free agency are thought to make a move within the NPB. The Yakult Swallows remain the team interested in INF Atsushi Fujimoto and the Yokohama BayStars are the front runner for C Tasuku Hashimoto. LHP Shugo Fujii from the Nippon Ham Fighters has also declared free agency and his destination is still up in the air, but a re-connection with the Fighters is unlikely.
We mentioned on Twitter that Hisanori Takahashi has declared free agency and will try to catch on with an MLB club via twitter. Hochi sports conducted an one-on-one interview with Takahashi after making the decision and here is our English translation of it.
- When did you start considering the Major Leagues?
“The desire to accomplish my dream has gotten stronger since last year. After watching Koji Uehara play baseball overseas, my admiration for Major Leagues increased.”
- Was there a possibility of staying put?
“I received good termｓ from the Giants. Staying might have been the better decision, but I appreciate the organization understanding my selfish desire to attempt my dream.”
- What is memorable moment with the Giants?
“When we won the ON (Oh-Nagashima) match-up and won the championship in my rookie season at 2000. Throwing a shutout game in that series is unforgettable as well.”
- Which team do you hope to play for?
“A team that needs me. I would be happiest if the team uses me as a starter. I feel like I can best show my strengths when I am starting. I would like to stick with that.”
- Any hope toward your challenge to the Majors?
“If I did not have confidence, I would not be making this decision. It’s my one and only baseball life. I would like to challenge as if I am a rookie.”
It’s that time of the year again when each team starts to look forward to the offseason stove league, aside from the Giants and Fighters who are set to do battle for this year’s big prize. The main talks of the off-season will be centering around the movement of the free agents and today the list of qualifying players was released.
Potential candidates that might consider a move overseas are starting to buzz around the rumor mill and Ryota Igarashi and Naoyuki Shimizu are two of the bigger names in the news at this point. Toshihisa Nishi is another guy who wants to play in MLB, but he’s 38 and looking at MLB as a swansong. The situation might change once the offseason begins, but there have been no talks about big names being posted and it might be a relatively quiet offseason for new Japanese players coming to the States for a new challenge.