 |
|
|
| |
« Odds and Ends: Aurilia, Sweeney, Nady | Main | Reds Sign Jerry Hairston Jr. »
Orioles Sign Koji Uehara
7:02pm: The two year deal is for $10MM with incentives. Says Connolly:
"His contract could be worth as much as $16 million over two years if the eight-time Japanese all-star meets certain performance bonuses and escalating clauses such as starts made and innings pitched. There is also a games-finished clause included for Uehara, who was an all-star closer in 2007 for the Yomiuri Giants, but the Orioles view him almost exclusively as a starter."
6:24pm: The contract is a two year deal. It is hinging on "specific contractual language" and a physical later this week, reports MLB.com.
2:00pm: According to Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun, the Orioles signed pitcher Koji Uehara to a multiyear deal (pending some contract language and a physical). Uehara, 34, is the team's first Japanese player. The O's will use Uehara as a starter and continue to pursue Braden Looper, Tim Redding, and Kenshin Kawakami.
ESPN's Keith Law ranked Uehara 22nd on his free agent list. His bottom line:
In an ideal environment -- National League, non-hitters' park -- he could be a midrotation innings-eater because he'll allow so few baserunners. In the American League, he'd be more of a fourth starter, but would have to have some luck keeping the ball in the park to keep his ERA under 4.00.
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d834515b9a69e2010536b8132a970c
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Orioles Sign Koji Uehara:
Comments
Top Stories
Search MLBTR
MLBTR Features
Recent Posts
Rumors By Team
Monthly Archives
Live Chats
Tuesdays at 2 p.m. CST
god dammit, why did we get the reject Japanese pitcher. Maybe (hopefully) it will help in getting Kawakami. Id still prefer Redding, Looper, and even Byrd more though...
at least its a pitcher. beggars cant be choosers
Posted by: Markakis21 | January 06, 2009 at 04:13 PM
very good move by macphail imo... hopefully this leads to a kawakami signing as well
Posted by: #1O'sfan | January 06, 2009 at 04:13 PM
Watch out for the O's Now!!!!
Posted by: NedCollettiClueless | January 06, 2009 at 04:13 PM
Obviously we need to see the terms, but I doubt this deal will hurt.
Any team that has a projected rotation of Guthrie, Olson, Liz, Waters and Hendrickson can use all the pitching help they can get.
Posted by: scribbletone | January 06, 2009 at 04:13 PM
smart deal. no the os are open to the japanese market
Posted by: clemsontribe24 | January 06, 2009 at 04:13 PM
Finally the Orioles sign a solid starter, and find rotation depth. BTW first?
Posted by: bballrox4717 | January 06, 2009 at 04:14 PM
nope, damn.
Posted by: bballrox4717 | January 06, 2009 at 04:14 PM
why can a Schmuck reveal this?
Posted by: marlinsman1120 | January 06, 2009 at 04:15 PM
thank goodness. we actually have a 1-2-3 punch with Guthrie, this dude, and Hendrickson.
Posted by: trmahoney01 | January 06, 2009 at 04:36 PM
Analysis here: http://www.examiner.com/x-1089-Baltimore-Sports-Examiner~y2009m1d6-Os-agree-to-contract-with-Uehara
Posted by: orioles10000 | January 06, 2009 at 04:45 PM
Now its time to for the braves to sign kawakami.
Posted by: justABravesfan719 | January 06, 2009 at 04:46 PM
Apparently the Orioles sudden Japanese fetish still ain't over.
Posted by: Umair | January 06, 2009 at 04:48 PM
trmahoney,
guthrie, uehera and hendrickson is definately not a 1-2-3 punch. hendrickson might not even make the rotation!!! he might only be the long man in the bullpen!!! keith law said uehera would be a good 4th starter in the AL. unfortunately, with the orioles rotation in shambles, he will be the number 2, but probably pitch like a number 4.
that being said, i do like the signing just because the orioles need a stop gap solution until the young guns get up to the bigs. i just think that is a horrid excuse for a 1-2-3 punch.
Posted by: lftyg33 | January 06, 2009 at 04:49 PM
lftyg33, I think he was kidding.
Posted by: Umair | January 06, 2009 at 04:52 PM
Tim,
East Windup Chronicle has some projections from Chone Smith for Uehara, not sure if you might want to add them to Law's projection.
http://eastwindupchronicle.com/chone-projects-the-2009-japanese-pitcher-free-agent-class/
Posted by: Kinsey | January 06, 2009 at 04:59 PM
ifty.... sarcasm buddy...
Posted by: trmahoney01 | January 06, 2009 at 05:11 PM
Nice little signing for the O's. I'd love to see them pile up a few more of these low-risk 2-3 year deals. Don't forget, these sorts of guys make great trade bait at deadline time.
Posted by: The Globalizer | January 06, 2009 at 05:14 PM
Good signing. He's getting my Gavin Floyd prediction from last year. I think he'll surprise a lot of people.
Posted by: astralpanda | January 06, 2009 at 05:17 PM
Great move on both fronts.
Low risk signing of a pitcher, AND opening up the O's to the Japanese market. Win-win situation for Baltimore.
Posted by: melonis rex | January 06, 2009 at 05:21 PM
Good signing for them. Now the Braves can sign Kawakami.
Posted by: BravoMan | January 06, 2009 at 05:58 PM
trmahoney01,
hendrickson, and unproven japanese pitcher, and a guy who never threw 200inn is not consider a 1-2-3 punch
Posted by: marlinsman1120 | January 06, 2009 at 06:09 PM
Great signing, I think he'll end up being the best out of all of the imports this year if he can stick in the rotation. If not, he'll be a pretty solid mid relief guy.
Posted by: CubbyFan23 | January 06, 2009 at 06:22 PM
What the heck is Keith Law thinking? IF this guy had an ERA under 4.00 in the AL East he'd be an automatic ACE! 4th starters usually come in north of 4.50!
Posted by: Mattyc44 | January 06, 2009 at 06:46 PM
marlinsman- I. Was. Kidding.
Posted by: trmahoney01 | January 06, 2009 at 07:10 PM
as an O's fan I am happy about this signing, this guy was pretty good in the NPB. I mean he is better then the AA guys that usually compromise our rotation. And finally having an asian import should make for a small amount of excitement in the yard.
Posted by: RotoNetwork.com | January 06, 2009 at 07:33 PM
Guthrie/Hendrickson/Uehara vs.:
Sabathia/Burnett/Wang
Beckett/Dice-K/Lester
Kazmir/Shields/Garza
Halladay/Litsch/Purcey
Well at least they have the fourth best top-3 in the East.
Posted by: vtadave | January 06, 2009 at 10:18 PM
Though my happiness stems from owning Uehara in an Ultra fantasy league in Chicago...it's been a three year ride to an A.L. destination...and an extra year tacked on by the NPB for him to be a true free agent. His team (Giants) has done everything to keep his value down and keep him from free agency. The Japanese leagues are famous for wasting good arms through abuse and I'm not so sure he's given his all the last two or three years. I think he's ready to go, and ready to prove everyone wrong. He doesn't walk people and has that beautiful Greg Maddux drift of a fastball that tails into the lefthanders strike zone along with a bottom dropping out off speed pitch to go with whatever fastball he's still managed to endure with through the abuse he's been under from his previous team because he was willing to admit at a young age that his dream was to pitch in the United States.
Posted by: HeadFirstSlide | January 06, 2009 at 10:42 PM
...baseball's not fair...it's a tough division...at least the team's on the right track (Wieters, Matusz...and the Bedard trade) and you've got a frickin' beautiful park. Now you have the NPB's version of Greg Maddux. Enjoy. Jeez.
Posted by: HeadFirstSlide | January 06, 2009 at 10:48 PM
Yee-hah, lookout NY and Sox, the O's are freaking poised to thwart the four game sweep now!
Posted by: paxterj | January 06, 2009 at 10:56 PM
the Ny Yankees aka the 3rd best team in the AL east aka the team that was the same place the O's were last postseason.
Their couches.....
Posted by: RotoNetwork.com | January 06, 2009 at 11:20 PM
Why the hell are you talking about the Yankees? Do you think you look cool predicting the Yankees to finish 3rd in a thread about the O's signing Uehara?
Posted by: nrmax88 | January 07, 2009 at 03:09 PM
nrmax, I was actually making the same point. Everyone is already to start handing the Yanks the 2009 WS rings when they were far from the best last season. I am also tired of every AL east rumor becoming all about the Yankees....
Posted by: RotoNetwork.com | January 07, 2009 at 04:14 PM
I sometimes wonder what the thinking is behind why some fans like to lick teams that are down. A lot of times it comes from fans of teams who are contending. What's the purpose kicking in, say, KC fans' egos to remind them that their team has been losing. Or Pirates? Or Reds? Or Orioles? I think those teams' fans know more about the intimate details of why they've been losing better than a outside critic would who only notices the final W-L record and not much more.
I remember the Yankees teams of the 80s, the Boston teams before the current run, the Braves when they were down for seemingly for ever, etc, etc..Every franchise has had their down periods. To stick it to those teams' fans only speaks of a short-term baseball knowledge.
Posted by: basemonkey | January 08, 2009 at 06:19 PM
"..kick.." not "..lick.."
;)
Posted by: basemonkey | January 08, 2009 at 06:19 PM
The O's rotation can't help but get better. If just one of the newbies comes through, the O's can improve on last year's record; not that that would be a great accomplishment. Let's try to be positive. At least Angelos is staying somewhat on the sidelines and Flanagan is no longer making his temporary patch decisions (that may not be fair).
Posted by: Birds Still | January 10, 2009 at 09:17 AM