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Teams Still Competing For Yabuta?
On Friday, the word from Ken Rosenthal was that the Royals were close to signing Japanese reliever Yasuhiko Yabuta to a two-year deal with an option. However, the Chicago Tribune's Mark Gonzales names five teams currently in the running for his services.
We already knew about the Royals and White Sox. Gonzales adds the Indians, Rays, and Pirates to the mix as well. Looks like Japanese relievers are no longer free agency's best kept secret. Odd that teams didn't start figuring this out until Hideki Okajima came along. There were plenty of successes before him. It almost seems like you can throw the stats out for Japanese relievers - MLB hitters just aren't used to these guys yet.
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Ha! Most people probably didn't realize Japanese relievers until Okajima because of ESPN.
Posted by: giantsfan18 | November 19, 2007 at 05:49 PM
Theo got tired of watching other teams grab excellent relief pitching from Japan.
I'm surprised Theo didn't dip into the Japanese very late. When he did tap in, he got a real gem. But Sasaki, Saito, and Otsuka were all here before Okajima.
You have to bet that since he hit the jackpot in his first try, he'll try to grab another one. He can't really do any worse than he got with Gagne.
Since Okajima had such a weird delivery, was so cheap, effective, and was so visible playing in Boston, it was really hard not to ignore his success. That's why so many teams are taking notice now.
Posted by: SierraM | November 19, 2007 at 06:08 PM
Right ... hey, how about they call up Shinjo Takatsu and Irabu, too?
Posted by: H0RAT!0SANZSERIF | November 20, 2007 at 12:10 PM