Left-hander Kazuto Taguchi re-signed with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows on a three-year contract worth 550 million yen (roughly $3.89MM), according to Sanspo News and other Japanese outlets. The 28-year-old closer also expressed an interest in eventually pursuing a move to Major League Baseball, which could happen as early as next offseason. Taguchi is a season away from reaching the full nine years of NPB service time required to be a full free agent without a posting fee involved, and his comments suggest that his deal with the Swallows might contain an out clause in such a circumstance.
Taguchi has a 3.36 ERA over 825 career innings in Nippon Professional Baseball, pitching with the Yomiuri Giants from 2014-20 until a trade to the Swallows prior to the start of the 2021 season. A rough 2018 campaign moved Taguchi from the rotation to the bullpen, and his work as a reliever has become increasingly impressive. Taguchi posted a 1.25 ERA over 36 innings for the Swallows as a setup man in 2022, and then a 1.86 ERA over 48 1/3 innings as the team’s closer last season. His work helped the Swallows to back-to-back pennants in 2021-22, and the Japan Series crown in 2021.
At only 5’7″ and 165 pounds, Taguchi isn’t exactly an imposing figure on the mound, and some Major League scouts might inevitably have concerns over his durability. That said, working out of the bullpen should help Taguchi stay healthy, and becoming a reliever seems to have unlocked a new level of performance. Taguchi has always had solid control as both a starter or a reliever, and his 28.5% strikeout rate in 2023 marked a new career high. Home runs also used to be a slight concern for Taguchi earlier in his career, yet he has allowed just two big flies since the start of the 2022 season.
Yuki Matsui just signed a five-year, $28MM deal with the Padres less than two weeks ago, and beyond being just a month younger than Taguchi, Matsui is also a rather diminutive left-handed reliever. However, Matsui has a much longer track record as a closer and is coming to MLB in advance of his age-28 season, whereas Taguchi would be coming to the Show prior to his age-29 season.
Perhaps a two-year pact might be a more realistic target for Taguchi at this point than Matsui’s deal (which is also somewhat unusually structured, with two opt-out clauses and an “injury clause”). Given the variance involved in relief pitching, projecting contracts even for established Major League relievers is difficult a year in advance, let alone NPB pitchers. Naturally another strong performance in the 2024 NPB season would help Taguchi’s prospects of landing a nice payday in the big leagues, and he could be a pitcher to monitor heading into the 2024-25 offseason.
Man, how about this Wander Franco story? Crazy stuff.
Yeah. They also detained that one girl’s mother. Makes me wonder if she had some nasty role in this, and might even had planned a blackmail. If so, that won’t happen now.
i believe he was only arrested for the failure to appear, is that correct? nothing regarding his case at this point.
Good point. I missed that. That failure to appear of course could be explained by his decision to switch lawyers.
Fascinating legal stuff.
Maybe the mom was detained because she was trying to get a settlement in lieu of testifying.
And even if this was a planned shakedown, that doesn’t necessarily get him off the hook. if she was say 16?
No, he should absolutely be in major trouble if she was underage and he knew it. No question or doubt about that. And maybe your supposition about the mom is why she was detained. Wonder if we’ll ever know the full truth with all this?
I feel like they were in a relationship him and the mom .. she was staying quite about it as long as they were still together and given her a lavish lifestyle or she was in on the whole thing too blackmail him .. but why were they arrested together ??
It’s important to differentiate that he was detained for failing to obey a previous summons for questioning. He’s not being arrested for the allegations against him nor has been criminally charged by a prosecutor.
I totally agree. But failing to appear is a very bad optic.
It could be a strategic move with Franco fully aware that he was going to be eventually detained. That gives his new representation extra time to prepare and re-strategize with any new info which may have been discovered in recent days.
We have to wait and see (but in the meantime, the speculation is interesting). Something was going on, that appears to be certain. But being detained apparently is different than being arrested, in some legal fashion. Both were detained.
If he opts out, is that Swallows then spits?
Great post…it’s that kind of humor that should move the world towards peace!
Wants to come to MLB and yes he swallows
Interested. One year deal, with team options for year 2, and 3. 3-4 million per season. See you in 2025 with the Padres.
Every Japanese player should be in to come into the US after seeing the contracts MLB is handing out
Yea these guys haven’t even thrown a pitch in MLB yet. Wait for a few to go bust and these GM’s will stop being so enthusiastic thinking they have the next Ohtani.
he
“Yea these guys haven’t even thrown a pitch in MLB yet. ”
Once they’ve thrown an MLB pitch, you realize it’s too late to sign them, right?
sounds like a future Diamondback as they are currently assembling a roster of misfit toys as a model for bullpen construction. Once they sign this young gentleman, all they need is a female softball pitcher with a drop ball 🙂
Why can I mute people in this thread and not on others?
He has a yen to play major league baseball.
I heard he’s only So So.
The next Dodger closer.