Daisuke Matsuzaka Rumors

Odds and Ends: Dice-K, Varitek, Rolen

Links for Monday... Tim Brown and Peter Abraham offer their takes on the top free agents. A note from Abraham - if Daisuke Matsuzaka finishes top three in the AL Cy Young vote, he'll get an extra $2MM in each of the '09 and '10 seasons. The Mariners could hire their new GM as soon as tomorrow. Geoff Baker discussed the merits of the four candidates in two recent posts. Jason Varitek was mum on his future last night. Joe Frisaro has the Marlins' 2009 payroll in the $30-35MM range. They have 15 arbitration-eligible players. I came across an interesting...   Continue Reading

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Odds and Ends: Posada, Uribe, Wise, Red Sox

Today's links... Jorge Posada could rejoin the Yankees as early as Wednesday (a few reports suggested Tuesday). Kat O'Brien of Newsday says the Yanks will hold on to both Jose Molina and Chad Moeller for "a while" after Posada returns, but as Peter Abraham points out on the LoHud Yankees blog, the Yankees have a real need for a set-up man now that Joba Chamberlain is starting. Juan Uribe has been activated from the 15-day DL, and although Ozzie Guillen said he wasn't guaranteed playing time, they had to make room on the roster nonetheless. DeWayne Wise was designated for...   Continue Reading

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Sunday A-Rod Recap

I hate to post about the same guy twice in a row, but there's been a flurry of Alex Rodriguez speculation on this fine October Sunday. To break it down, here's a brief recap: The New York Post reports the Yankees are expected to make an offer to prevent A-Rod from free agency. However, the offer will approach neither $300MM nor 12 years. I think this is both expected and a smart move by the Yanks because... Nick Cafardo likens Scott Boras' approach toward marketing A-Rod's "Iconic Value" to the exaggeratory strategy he took with Daisuke Matsuzaka. And Johnny Damon,..   Continue Reading

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Felix 1, Daisuke 0

Daisuke Matsuzaka received all the hype from ESPN entering tonight's game. After all, it was his Fenway debut. He tossed a solid seven innings, allowing three runs to the Mariners. He retired Ichiro every time, even striking him out once. Matsuzaka also threw one high and tight to Ichiro, and it wasn't an accident. Nor was his HBP of Jose Guillen, in my opinion. Kenji Johjima, who's had plenty of ABs against Matsuzaka, smacked a couple of doubles for the Mariners. But the big story was 21 year-old Felix Hernandez, who carried a no-hitter into the 8th inning. I was..   Continue Reading

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Daisuke Matsuzaka Projection

I've thrown my hat into the ring with a Daisuke Matsuzaka projection. Check it out at RotoAuthority. My 2007 RotoAuthority Fantasy Baseball Guide should be available for $9.99 in mid-January. Brace yourself   Continue Reading

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Red Sox Sign Matsuzaka

According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, the Red Sox have signed Daisuke Matsuzaka to a six-year, $52MM deal with an additional $8MM in incentives. That makes him an $18.5MM player, if you are to include the posting fee. If you're so inclined. Boston now boasts the following starting rotation: Daisuke Matsuzaka Curt Schilling Josh Beckett Jon Papelbon Tim Wakefield I would assume Jon Lester is the sixth man, ready to step in when needed or when he proves he's better than Wakefield   Continue Reading

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Red Sox To Make Record Offer To Matsuzaka

The Red Sox plan on making a record offer to Daisuke Matsuzaka, at least for a player who's never pitched in the Majors. Based on this info from Gordon Edes, I wonder if it's a six-year, $100MM offer. It's tough to picture the Red Sox going far beyond that dollar amount, though Scott Boras might want that amount for five seasons. Or perhaps he's angling for $60MM over three seasons instead. We should have an idea soon. Baseball Prospectus's Nate Silver has a system that says Matsuzaka is worth roughly $80MM over six seasons   Continue Reading

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Matsuzaka Talks Breaking Down

The outlook is not so good for the Red Sox to sign Japanese ace Daisuke Matsuzaka. Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald writes that talks are "breaking down." Silverman's source places to blame on agent Scott Boras, who apparently doesn't feel like making a deal. As Buster Olney notes, that certainly sounds like it originates from the Red Sox. Olney also notes that the Sox will probably provide what amounts to a blank check to Roger Clemens should they fail to sign Matsuzaka. While there has been some talk of Clemens pitching for all of 2007, his agent is pushing..   Continue Reading

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Carroll On Matsuzaka

Will Carroll has spoken to several Boston sources on the topic of signing Daisuke Matsuzaka. Those sources are said to be pessimistic about Boston's chances at signing him. I have read the same in various Boston newspapers. Carroll also adds that Matsuzaka will not be eligible for free agency until after the 2008 season, should he return to Japan. The bold letters are from Carroll, to help correct the misinformation that Matsuzaka would only owe the Lions one more season   Continue Reading

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More Matsuzaka

No hot rumors here, but I wanted to point everyone toward my latest article on The Hardball Times about Daisuke Matsuzaka. One of the things I looked at was the impact that the Red Sox bid could have on the free-agent market, particularly Barry Zito and Jason Schmidt. It's interesting that the team that won the bidding wasn't one of those that was strongly going after Zito-in other words, the Red Sox set a staggeringly high market price for an ace pitcher, but by winning the bid, didn't shrink the market for Barry. I also noticed that the high-end starting..   Continue Reading

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51.1

Can you believe it? The Red Sox won the rights to negotiate with Daisuke Matsuzaka for $51.1MM. That's more than many teams' entire payrolls! When speculation first began, people were thinking half that   Continue Reading

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Seibu Accepts Matsuzaka Bid

According to this article from Yahoo Japan, the Seibu Lions have accepted the bid for Daisuke Matsuzaka and an announcement of the winning team will come Tuesday evening. I wonder which team won?? Could it be? Ken Rosenthal weighs in with disapproval of the huge bid. And with a culturally relevant quip   Continue Reading

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Destrade: Red Sox Won Matsuzaka Bid

RotoWorld has an Orestes Destrade report for ESPN that claims the Red Sox won the Daisuke Matsuzaka bid for about $42MM. I think we can be pretty confident that the Lions will accept it. The next step, of course, is getting him signed. UPDATE: Peter Gammons is reporting a $42MM bid as well   Continue Reading

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McAdam: Red Sox Matsuzaka Rumor Probably Accurate

Sean McAdam of the Providence Journal spoke to several baseball sources, and learned that Buster Olney's report of a $38-45MM Red Sox bid for Daisuke Matsuzaka was "probably accurate." Not something Yankee fans wanted to hear. Newsday's Ken Davidoff spoke to sources with connections to both New York clubs who indicated that neither team expects to win the bid   Continue Reading

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Abraham On Matsuzaka: "Calm Down"

Peter Abraham, Yankees beat writer for The Journal News, is telling us all to relax a little bit in his blog. He later checked in again after talking to Brian Cashman and says the Yankees haven't heard anything about Matsuzaka yet. Other interesting bits from Abraham's fine blog: - I quote: "The Japanese papers literally have people standing outside of the team offices waiting to get the news [on Matsuzaka]." - Andy Pettitte's wife doesn't seem to like the idea of a return to the Yanks. - Carl Pavano and Luke Scott carry guns.   Continue Reading

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Olney: Red Sox Placed Top Matsuzaka Bid?

A little while ago, Buster Olney reported that the Red Sox may have won the Daisuke Matsuzaka bid with an amount between $38MM and $45MM. Also, please email me if you can read Taiwanese. And yes, I might mean Mandarin. I can be ignorant sometimes. Don't take offense. Anyway, I am tracking down a possible Matsuzaka/Yankees story. UPDATE: Many kind folks have written in to help translate the above Yahoo article. The general consensus is that the sources and reporting quality are subpar in this case and the article should be ignored as any sign that the Yankees have won..   Continue Reading

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Rangers Bid $30MM For Matsuzaka?

Here we finally have a decent source giving us some Daisuke Matsuzaka info. Jan Hubbard of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has a baseball official indicating something close to a $30MM bid. Of the course, the language in the article uses plenty of qualifiers like "may" and "have a chance." Can't blame 'em for hedging their bets a little. We've also got a video in which Boston Globe sportswriter Jackie MacMullan says that Matsuzaka is "going to go out west to the Angels by all accounts." Not to question her info, but in watching the video is appeared that she did..   Continue Reading

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Tribe Placed A Matsuzaka Bid

According to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, "it is believed the Indians did bid" on Daisuke Matsuzaka. Indians fans can hope they tacked the $4MM or so not spent on a 2B onto their bid. We can also be confident that the Yankees and Mets placed bids. The Rangers indicated their intent to bid before the mandate of silence was issued from MLB. Other teams that have been mentioned as likely bidders are the Cubs, Red Sox, and Diamondbacks. So instead of a five team race, seven clubs might actually be involved. All we can do is wait...I..   Continue Reading

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Lennon: Matsuzaka Winning Bid Could Be Lower Than Expected

Newsday's David Lennon thinks the winning bid for Daisuke Matsuzaka will be closer to $11MM than the $20MM+ estimates that have been going around. We may not know the reality for a while, but hopefully the winning team will be announced or leaked this evening. I still can't see how none of the big market teams go up to $20MM, however   Continue Reading

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Possible Cubs Matsuzaka Bid Amount

The buzz around Chicago today is that the Cubs plan on submitting a bid of $21 million for the rights to negotiate with Daisuke Matsuzaka. If other teams believe this leak to be accurate, it may cause them to up the ante if they have not yet submitted bids. The Yankees, Mets, Rangers, and Red Sox are said to be the other four teams in the game   Continue Reading

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Matsuzaka Derby Down To 5?

RotoWire reports that the serious suitors for Daisuke Matsuzaka appear to be just the Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Red Sox, and Rangers. This comes after reports of many teams pulling out of the bidding - the Orioles, Dodgers, Angels, and Giants. Smart money appears to be on New York, or maybe that's just where all the hype comes from. Hard to tell. Mike Plugh finds an interesting note in a Japanese newspaper: the Yankees may bid less than $20MM. As Plugh says, that's a surefire way to make the pitcher a Met. I think the Cubs and Rangers might pursue Kei..   Continue Reading

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Daisuke Matsuzaka Officially Posted

Bids are due Wednesday for the right to negotiate with Daisuke Matsuzaka. Seibu and hopefully the public will know the winning team on November 14th. While I have you I want to point you to a couple of websites about Mr. Matsuzaka. The first one is by Jeff Sackmann for The Hardball Times. He formulates a rough translation of Matsuzaka's performance and attempts to put a dollar value on him as well. And if you want dedication? Try The Matsuzaka Watch. The author is opinionated, knowledgable, and up-to-date on all things Matsuzaka   Continue Reading

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Mariners Backing Off On Matsuzaka?

Larry Stone has an excellent article for the Seattle Times outlining the process for Daisuke Matsuzaka. He mentions two baseball sources who indicated that the Mariners will make just a token bid for the coveted hurler. To me this info only cements the Yankees' status as the frontrunner. Instead, Stone mentions that Bill Bavasi might focus his money to acquire Jason Schmidt or Barry Zito. It's expected that Seibu will post Matsuzaka in the first or second week of November. After that teams will have four days to submit bids. MLB will notify Seibu of the winning bid amount but..   Continue Reading

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Matsuzaka Bid To Top $30MM?

We had heard a lot of $20MMish estimates for the winning bid to negotiate with Japanese ace Daisuke Matsuzaka. However, Joel Sherman's article yesterday quotes an NL GM who sets the over-under at $33MM. Bob Bavasi mentioned $28MM as the highest figure he had heard when I talked to him earlier this month. With more than ten teams looking to make competitive bids, $30MM+ is becoming more of a reality. Sherman speculates that Scott Boras could ask for five years and $75MM on top of that posting fee. Now we're talking a total of $21MM a season for the guy...   Continue Reading

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Rosenthal On Matsuzaka, Igawa, Edmonds

Here's a link to Ken Rosenthal's latest. Rosenthal confirms Yahoo Japan's earlier story, which indicated that the Braves had interest in Japanese southpaw Kei Igawa. A Yahoo story had mentioned that Igawa's posting would be contingent on Hanshin signing free agent Hiroki Kuroda, but Rosenthal states as fact that Igawa will be posted. In addition to Atlanta, we know that the Mariners, Dodgers, Mets, and Tigers have special interest in Igawa. Rosenthal also officially adds the Tigers to the list of teams interested in Daisuke Matsuzaka. While we know every team has scouted him, the Cubs, Angels, Royals, Yankees, Mets,..   Continue Reading

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Cubs To Enter Matsuzaka Bidding

Being a Cubs fan is all about hope. Jim Hendry's assertion yesterday that the team will enter the bidding for Japanese ace Daisuke Matsuzaka should keep the positive vibes going around the team. It's important to note, though, that every team has some level of interest in Matsuzaka and nearly every team will place a bid. There's no danger in bidding too low - only upside. Still, the thought of Matsuzaka behind Carlos Zambrano makes Cubs fans salivate. Suddenly the Cubs would have the makings of a rotation - Rich Hill in the third slot, a mid-level free agent as..   Continue Reading

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Interview: Bob Bavasi of JapanBall.com

Recently Bob Bavasi, owner of the fine website JapanBall.com, was kind enough to answer some questions for MLBTradeRumors.com. Bob tells me that he recently got back from his JapanBall.com baseball tour, where he encountered a variety of scouts, writers, and team personnel. His answers are in bold. What kind of posting fee do you see for Matsuzaka? Ichiro cost $13MM; could Matsuzaka require $20MM? Still one year away from Japanese free agency, RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka, 26, of the Seibu Lions (just outside of Tokyo), is considered the hottest prospect by the MLB scouts. The Lions will allow Matsuzaka to post,..   Continue Reading

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Daisuke Matsuzaka To Be Posted By Seibu

It's official: the Seibu Lions will post ace starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. That means a Major League team will bid on the exclusive rights to negotiate a contract with him. Matsuzaka figures to beat out even Barry Zito and Jason Schmidt as the best free agent pitcher available. At least eight teams have already scouted him Matsuzaka. Based on this report (scroll down), the Angels will also be players for Matsuzaka   Continue Reading

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Royals Join Matsuzaka Chase

An unlikely eighth team has expressed interest in Daisuke Matsuzaka: the Royals. KC joins the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Rangers, Orioles, Dodgers, and Mariners as a suitor. While it's unlikely that the Royals would pony up more than $10MM annually for one player, it would bring some excitement to the '07 team. It would also be better than the way they spent free agent money in 2006: $5MM for Reggie Sanders, $4MM for Scott Elarton, $4MM for Mark Grudzielanek, $1.85MM for Doug Mientkiewicz, $1.7MM for Elmer Dessens, and $1.5MM for Tony Graffanino. Granted that was a different GM, but the..   Continue Reading

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Daisuke Matsuzaka Video

A little more on Japanese hurler Daisuke Matsuzaka. Check out this video of him throwing his various pitches. It's the best look I've had at his breaking ball. It might be a screwball or something weird, but let's remember that Jeff Passan has established that it's not a gyroball. When we last checked in, there was a 50/50 chance of Matsuzaka being posted by the Lions. Here's a rundown on the suitors: This Boston Herald article informed us that the Red Sox, Yankees, and Mets are currently scouting Matsuzaka in Japan. As of September 11th, his numbers looked like this...   Continue Reading

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Will The Lions Post Daisuke Matsuzaka?

Will they or won't they? As he would've been in 2005, Japanese hurler Daisuke Matsuzaka could be the best starting pitcher on the market if the Seibu Lions post him. Whether they'll do it is still an open question. Seattle Times reporter Larry Stone has examined the situation carefully, and it seems like a 50/50 proposition. If the Lions do decide to post him, teams must bid just for the rights to negotiate with Matsuzaka. Stone speculates that the bidding for these rights could exceed $30MM. You have to figure it would take around five years and $55 million to..   Continue Reading

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Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Gyroball

Japan's Daisuke Matsuzaka brings his mysterious gyroball against Vinny Castilla and the Mexican team tonight. I've written quite a bit about Matsuzaka back when we thought there was a chance he could come to the United States this offseason. Here's a link with all four of my posts on the topic - scroll to the bottom to start at the beginning. UPDATE: Fittingly, Jeff Passan's interview with Matsuzaka recently reveals that he does not throw the gyroball regularly. Hat tip to Will Carroll, who pointed me to that article and brought the gyroball to the forefront in the U.S   Continue Reading

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Matsuzaka Staying In Japan

A couple of readers have been asking about Japanese gyroball pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. Is he still available for posting? Is there any chance he comes to the U.S. for 2006? I assumed he would come over, naming him the best available free agent pitcher (excluding Clemens). The always helpful Gary Garland of Japan Baseball Daily was willing to answer our questions. On Matsuzaka's 2006: Matsuzaka just signed a new contract with Seibu and will not be posted this offseason. Seibu seems to be now saying that they are going to make Matsuzaka wait until he is a free agent, but..   Continue Reading

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