Southbank southpaw Tsuyoshi Wada owns a 1.80 ERA, 8.5 K/9, 2/0 BB/9, and 0.41 HR/9 on the season. According to NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman, Wada recently reached the service time requirement for free agent eligibility and "is widely expected to make a run at an MLB contract this offseason."
Wada, 31 in February, is a Dallas Braden type with "a 86-87 mph fastball, a good circle change, and a solid slider," in the opinion of Newman. Newman's biggest concern is whether Wada could handle the innings required of an MLB starting pitcher.
In an email exchange, Newman guessed that teams might view a two-year deal in the $8MM range as a reasonable risk for Wada this offseason. Wada may be viewed by some as a reliever, though the pitcher's view on his role is not known. Wada ought to generate decent interest this offseason, though the bigger name pitchers coming out of Japan will be Hisashi Iwakuma and perhaps Yu Darvish.
Unless he has some insane movement on that 86 mph fastball of his I don’t think you’ll have to worry about him handling too many innings
so it kinda sucks to be an NPB fan this offseason I guess.
Come on Twins! One Tsuyoshi just isn’t enough.
Tsuyoshi is quickly becoming the most common name in MLB. Who would have thunk it?
McLovin
Sounds like another overpaid, overhyped, Triple-A caliber stiff that should stay in Japan.
“a 86-87 mph fastball, a good circle change, and a solid slider,”
Hideki Okajima…is that you?
I’m betting he gets converted into a reliever if he comes to MLB. Iwakuma and Darvish can probably hang as starters, but I have my doubts about Wada.
If he comes here, we’ll probably be a LOOGY.
I wouldn’t be stoked if I was Tsuyoshi Wada and people were calling me a “Dallas Braden type”. I wonder if he minds people running across his mound?
Billy Beane will sign them all!…..Oh wait.