Akinori Iwamura wishes to continue playing in North America next season, tweets Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. The infielder is coming off by far the worst of his four major league seasons, posting a .535 OPS in 229 plate appearances with the Pirates (who released him in September) and the Athletics (who released him two weeks ago). Iwamura's ability to play both second and third makes him a candidate for teams in need of infield depth this winter, but it seems almost certain that he'd have to sign a minor league contract and then perform well in spring training to win a spot on a big league roster.
If this scenario doesn't play out for the 31-year-old and he decides to return to his native country after all, Newman believes that Iwamura's Japanese rights are still held by Yakult. Iwamura played all nine of his professional seasons in Japan with the Swallows, and it was Yakult who acquired the $4.5MM posting fee for the infielder when his rights were obtained by Tampa Bay in the 2006-07 offseason.
I want to play in the majors too. Our chances are about the same.
A fit for the Jays? Sign him and have MacDonald and him as the backup infeilders if he produces then move Hill to third and start him at 2nd? I mean he’s at least worth a tryout he has succeeded in the AL east.
No thanks. I would rather have Eamus as a bench player.
You’re overlooking the fact his Canadian is incredibly poor.
In related news, the sun rose in the east.
It woud be cool if Nakajima an Iwamura were a middle infield combo.
Until Iwamura does his signature move of grounding to second coupled with his five feet of range he gets in each direction.
Too bad he sucks.
I don’t think so. I thought he was pretty good with Tampa. He lost the 3B job to Longoria, then the 2B to Brigniac, got hurt and has never been the same. Pittsburg was a downer for him and he was making too much money for them. I thought that when Oakland picked him up things were looking better for him. The A’s are pretty good judges of talent, and when they cut him, it set off bells and whistles in my mind. I hope he can recover from the injury and help some team. But it’s going to be after signing a minor leaague deal somewhere.
Cause that Holliday trade worked out so well for Oakland
Your point is …?
I think the whole Oakland judge of talent and getting the most out of their pick ups is highly overrated. Please tell me the last good trade or signing they made
There hasn’t been a good trade or signing in a while. About the only decent signing recently would be Crisp and that’s nothing great. But Oakland gets most of their talent on the cheap, either from their farm system or ‘projects’, that satisfy their needs.Trades and FA signings does not talent evaluators make.Many of their players leave because of money. Zito, Swisher, Damon, Scaturo to name a few. Because they don’t stay means the A’s don’t recognize talent? You can’t dismiss their talent evlaluations on the basis of one trade. Holliday didn’t work out for who knows what reason, but you can’t say he is not talented. The Rockies and the cards would dispute that claim.
I am glad the A’s ended that relationship. It was worth giving him a look but we saw enough to know he was not a fit in Oakland
If you´re awful in the Pirates, you´re one of the worst players in MLB
BURN
Pittsburgh’s lineup > Seattle’s.
Agreed
test
And I want an invitation to the playboy mansion…
I can get you in
“If you´re awful in the Pirates, you´re one of the worst players in MLB”
Like Jose Bautista?
Akinori should have been thinking along these lines in ST, 2010!
hello bridgeport bluefish
hello bridgeport bluefish