The Marlins announced Thursday that they’ve designated veteran right-hander Junichi Tazawa for assignment and also optioned righty Tyler Cloyd to Triple-A New Orleans. Corresponding roster moves tomorrow will be announced tomorrow.
Tazawa, who’ll turn 32 in early June, was signed to a two-year, $12MM contract in the 2016-17 offseason as the Marlins sought to bolster the back of their bullpen in free agency. (Brad Ziegler, too, was signed to a two-year deal that winter.) Instead, however, Tazawa’s time in Miami has been nothing short of nightmarish. After a long run as a solid setup man and middle relief piece in Boston, Tazawa turned in a 5.69 ERA in 55 1/3 innings last season and has surrendered 20 earned runs in 20 innings thus far in 2018.
Tazawa’s strikeout numbers fell off sharply in 2017, as he posted a 6.2 K/9 mark and 16 percent overall strikeout rate — each the lowest full-season levels of his MLB career. His strikeouts have returned in 2018 — 24 in 20 innings — but he’s also issued 13 walks and served up six homers, including one long ball in today’s game. Beyond that, while Tazawa is picking up some strikeouts at the moment, his average fastball velocity is sitting at a career-low 91.5 mph, and his swinging-strike rate (7.8 percent) and chase rate (28.4 percent) are also career-worsts. Given that context, it seems that his strikeout rate was likely due for some regression anyhow.
Miami will still owe Tazawa the balance of this year’s $7MM salary — a total of about $5.17MM through season’s end. They’ll have a week to trade, outright or release Tazawa, though it seems decidedly unlikely that another club would have interest in paying any portion of that remaining sum. Tazawa has enough service time to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency without forfeiting the remainder of his salary, as well, so the likeliest outcome is that he’ll be released and seek a fresh start in a new organization (almost certainly on a minor league deal). Any club that signs Tazawa will only owe him the pro-rated portion of the league minimum for any time he spends in the Majors. That sum would be subtracted from what the Marlins owe him through season’s end.
About time
Amen
Red Sox don’t win the World Series in 2013 without this kid. He was so good for us for a few years. Wonder if his TJ replacement ligament is just failing on him
Might have been over use also. boston pen wasn’t really very good other than taz and koji for several seasons and taz was making 70 appearances a year over multiple seasons after the surgery.
Regarding coming back from TJ.. remember also.. Taz was throwing at unheard of velocity those 1st few months for him. sitting mid 90’s and touching 96-97. He was just not hittable and had I though, the best splitter of his career late that summer.
Totally agree with the above. His job was to take the ball but he was abused. Would love to see the Sox take a flyer if he’s willing to work it out in the minors.
It was well-known towards the end of Tazawa’s time in Boston that he was suffering from fatigue. I don’t think he’s ever acclimated to American baseball and the rigors of a 162-game schedule. Too bad. He was a pretty tough pitcher for a few years.
Eating $5M to $7M dollars, whether you are the Marlins, Yankees or Dodgers, is never an easy decision. This isn’t football where you can get out of paying some of the future money. It’s 100% guaranteed, so you take your lumps and hope for the best. That being said, you have to wonder if he’s hurt and hiding it (seems to happen a lot with Japanese pitchers) No one will pick up that contract after the last two drubbings. It’s possible that if he clears waivers he will choose to go to the minors, but I’d expect he’d either go home, or find a place to rehab and prepare for 2019.
I don’t think I’ve ever watched a team just throw out someone so awful over and over and over and over again. This should have happened last year.
Well you don’t watch the Orioles and the Marlins then. And quite frankly, I can’t really blame you.
I watch about 140 Marlins games a year as they’re my team. Baltimore I barely watch. That team is just a mess and the next front office has an extraordinarily tall task ahead of them.
We were just sayingvthst
That
Mike Dunn
Agreed. Every time he came out with a one run lead, I had to shut it off. Especially, if someone was on base
Bet they’re calling up Sandy Alcantara. Pretty sure he’s accumulated enough time in the minors now for them to get an extra year of control.
Based on Tazawa’s face today getting knocked around – he saw it coming.
Hasn’t been good since 2014
Six homers allowed in only 20 innings… yikes.
Kinda surprised that the Marlins took a chance on Taz, his last year in Boston was a nightmare… not worth the money he got
that was the genius move by Michael Hill throwing money to Ziegler and Chen too and for some damn reason he still has a job
he still has a job because he blamed all his failed moves on Loria and Mike Berger, saying they argued for them. That and Jeter’s an idiot
He would be welcome site to have up in Seattle
Wonder if the red sox might give him a look at AAA
Oh geez, I can just picture the Tribe taking a chance on him.
My favorite thing about Tazawa was his warm up song. Mogura No Uta by Express. Completely in Japanese but a total jam. Do have to say it was nice seeing him and Koji back to back against Detroit in 2013 ALCS mowing down Fielder and Cabrera.
John Ferrell is to blame for his career crashing down. Talk about overuse out of the pen! Jeez. Tax was being run out there every night, even when he had nothing in the tank.
How long before the Dodgers FO pick up this piece of junk pitcher?
Why bother? Having to call up someone new is just a waste of money.