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    • Yeah, this will build up his value and maybe earn himself a spot at 2B for the A’s next season!

  3. Injured much of his career…. check
    cheap….. check
    well past his prime…… check

    a perfect player for the A’s

  4. Man. The A’s really seem desperate. I really don’t get this signing…

      • Hm. I guess.

        Still a waste of money as long as he’s getting paid IMO.

        • well I see what your saying I just wonder if a change of scenery will do him good. Maybe a return to the AL. We’ll see.

        • The pro-rated version of $400K for the season’s final 20 games is a waste of money? There’s not a team in baseball that would be even remotely affected by that amount of money. The guy’s BABIP is 120 points lower than his career mark this season, and while part of that is his plummet in line drives hit, his BABIP on grounders was .135. Sure, he had a knee injury so his infield hits may be down, but in a sample size of ~190 PAs, it’s also certainly possible that it’s just plain bad luck that he’s hitting grounders right at the fielders, they’re making great plays, etc.

          • My mistake on the arbitration thing. I just looked on BR but they’ve got it wrong in this instance.

          • I don’t think he’s arb eligible. He’s a free agent according to Cots. Or did Cots give me the wrong info? They did with J.J. Hardy but I think Aki is a free agent.

            • Yeah, I just saw it on Baseball Reference and didn’t really think about it. I distinctly remember thinking how odd it was for the Pirates to trade for one year of a player now, actually.

            • Unless Iwamura got something put into his contract he signed with the Rays….he should have 2 years of arbitration left and not be a free agent.

              2010 is only his 4th ML season. To be a free agent you need 6 full ML seasons.

              Now some Japanese players do get things put into their contracts where they can’t be offered arbitration and become free agents instead (since most are older when they come to the states). But barring this and per ML rules, the A’s should be allowed to offer arbitration and keep Iwamura for at least 2 more years.

              • Cot’s is a bit vague. Says the Rays must offer him an extention OR grant him free agency……so does arbitration count as an extention or do the A’s have to offer him a 2 year deal?

                Again, per ML rules he should be arbitration eligible…..does look like he has some clause in his contract though. Then again, being released by the Pirates….does that clause still stand up to the A’s?

                Either way, not sure arbitration is the best way to go with Iwamura. Made $4.25M this year…..is he worth that next year? He’d get that or close to it in arby.

  5. Congratulations on signing an overweight and elderly sub-par middle infielder. You could have said the same thing to the Pirates’ GM in the off-season.

    I guess if he’s cheap though, why not? At least they aren’t paying him 4.5 million to play AAA ball.

  6. Uh… The A’s have Adam Rosales. He’s going to play next season, good defender, good speed. Hit .271 for the A’s that’s not bad. That’s a waste of money signing. Low risk, high reward, but you aren’t going to get much of a high reward from that guy.

    • I believe Iwamura is a free agent after the season. It’s just for the rest of the season while Kouzmanoff is hurt.

  7. I’ll predict that in his next at bat he’ll ground out to the second baseman.

  8. Aki is past his prime, is a defensive liability, cannot bend his knees, a real lightweight in the batter’s box, and is a free agent at the end of the season. Plus, he will be delaying opportunities to some of the younger players. A real headscratcher of a signing.

  9. One of the real blunder signings/trades of the Neal Huntington era. If Aki had anything at all left, Pittsburgh would have found a way to keep him around. The bottom line is that Aki’s knee can no longer withstand the demands of his craft. He is both an offensive and defensive liabilty, plus he is a free agent at the end of the season. This is a real head scratcher of a signing, doesn’t Oakland have a player or 2 needing to get some real experience?

    • I don’t know how much of a blunder you can call it when all he gave up was Jesse Chavez. Granted, it’s a $4.85MM mistake (well, $4.435MM net mistake, since Chavez would’ve earned $415K), but when the only thing it costs you is money, it could be worse. Not like they gave up Walker, Tabata, Alvarez, Lincoln, etc. to get him.

      Just realized Chavez has been with four different teams in a span of about nine months too. Wow.

  10. This guy is a prime example of why BABIP isn’t just luck for everyone. He had such a bad swing and made terrible contact with the ball, it was a miracle if he hit it out of the infield. It was a little strange that he fell off so quickly when he was a usable player, but sometimes that happens. He has an ok eye which is probably why Beane likes him, but I feel like he has to get away from creating a whole team of guys who’d rather walk than hit. OPS isn’t an advanced stat anymore and there are other teams who use the same tools as they do, many use much more.

  11. A change of scenery will do Iwamura some good. He was a good player for Tampa that was beaten out by two better players at two different positions. Pittsburg’s organization did not seem to suit his taste. Playing for a better organization, that will compete will bring out the better in him.

  14. thanks aki for being sooooo badddd that we were able to discover that neal walker is for real and not another first round bucco bust!!! we owe you and your knee brace

  15. thanks aki for being sooooo badddd that we were able to discover that neal walker is for real and not another first round bucco bust!!! we owe you and your knee brace

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