Patrick » 01 December 2009 » In nichibei, npb » Comments Off on Moves & Notes, December 1, 2009
A couple of player personnel notes to pass along…
Sanspo via Yahoo! Japan is saying that the Chiba Lotte Marines have added Dodgers lefty Eric Stults to their shopping list. Based on the one game I saw Stults pitch, a dominant performance against the Giants, I thought he was a pretty good prospect. I didn’t realize he was 29.
According the same article, the Marines are nearly done with a deal for Blue Jays lefty Bill Murphy, who tried out for the team along with Bryan Corey and a couple others last month. Lotte sees Murphy as a middle reliever.
Masahide Kobayashi’s deal with Yomiuri is for one year at 50m yen ($500k) with 100m yen ($1m) in performance bonuses. Here’s a pic of him high above the Big Egg.
Termel Sledge could get an official offer from Yokohama as soon as December 2. Word has it that the offer could exceed 400m yen ($4m) over two years.
Nov 27 (JST): Sponichi publishes a blurb with information from Takashi Saito’s agent, saying that about eight teams are in on Saito. Four teams are named as suitors, all of which seem plausbile.
Nov 29 (PST): I make note of the interest in Saito in a set of bullet points about him and a couple other free agents.
So this rumor, which is entirely reasonable, has come full circle: it originated in Japan, made its way via the blogosphere into the US media, and wound up getting repeated in a different Japanese publication. This isn’t meant to be self-congratulatory, but I think it demonstrates the position of social media.
In two seasons with the Hanshin Tigers, Baldiris hit .205 with a total 4HR and 17RBI in 100 ichi-gun games. He had success at the ni-gun level, hitting .358 to lead the league in his second season.
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.
Patrick » 30 November 2009 » In mlb » Comments Off on Okajima Prioritizes Comfort, Security
Hideki Okajima needs to work out a deal with Boston for the remainder of his arbitration-eligible years, and he’s got a couple of basic requests. “I requested to my agent that I’d like a personal translator to be brought in,” said Okajima in Sponichi, adding, “more than money (salary), I want to play baseball in America even a year longer.” Oki isn’t a free agent, but all indications are that he would have wanted to return to Boston anyway, and it seems that he has reasonable priorities for this series of negotiations.
Seibu Lion’s manager Hisanobu Watanabe has suggested that his plan for Yusei Kikuchi might be to have the highly-touted lefty start his pro career in middle relief. The Lions already has a starting rotation which consists of 2009 Sawamura Award winner Hideaki Wakui, a proven young starter in Takayuki Kishi, and also former major leaguer Kazuhisa Ishii. Unless Kikuchi shows his ability to be part of the rotation during spring training, the plan, barring injuries, may be that he will start his professional career from the bullpen.
This comes from the concern that Kikuchi could overwork himself if he pushed to hard to start the season in the rotation. What the manager and the baseball world really want to see at the start of the spring training is a healthy Yusei Kikuchi.
2. Don’t neglect the fundamentals
Watanabe already gave Kikuchi a practice menu written by the training coach and he believes that building the basis of his body will lead to successful pitching.
3. No special treatment
“Ichi-gun on opening day? I have no answer for that. I am not going to put him on the roster because he can just pitch. He needs to show results during spring training.”
A couple of items from the nichibei free agent market…
According to Sponichi, Takashi Saito has eight teams interested, including the White Sox, Cubs, Braves and Mets. The Braves had some interest in Saito way back in 2002 but he wound up remaining with Yokohama.
Multiple reports are saying the Yomiuri Giants are going after Masahide Kobayashi. The Giants would use him in a middle relief role.
38 year-old second baseman Toshihisa Nishi has compiled a DVD and sent it Stateside, to no immediate effect. Nishi, released by the BayStars, is looking for a camp invite from a major league club.
Update: I’ve gotten a second tip from a different source confirming that Alvarado has indeed signed with the Hiroshima Carp.
Ryo posted earlier today that the Hiroshima Carp have been after Dodger’s 3A arm Giancarlo Alvarado. I now have a tip from a reliable source that Alvarado has signed a multi-year contract with a team in Japan. Word is it’s a three-year deal, but I don’t have a team confirmed yet. Stay tuned…