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Roki Sasaki Re-Signs With NPB’s Lotte Marines, Discusses Future

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Right-hander Roki Sasaki re-signed with the Lotte Marines of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball today on a one-year contract, per Stephen Wade of The Associated Press.

The deal puts to bed rumors that percolated earlier in the offseason that Sasaski would attempt to make the jump from NPB to MLB this winter. Such an arrangement would have been unusual for a Japanese player look to continue his career stateside. MLB posting rules stipulate that players must be at least 25 years old and have played in at least six professional seasons before they can sign with a big league club on anything other than a minor league contract.

Some players (most notably Shohei Ohtani) make the jump prior to those benchmarks, though in doing so they limit their own immediate earnings to what clubs can offer them from their international bonus pool. Said pools range from $4,144,000 to $6,366,900 for this year’s signing period, and it’s unlikely a team would be willing or able to commit their entire pool to one player. Ohtani, for example, received a bonus of just $2.3MM when he first signed on with the Angels prior to the 2018 season.

Given Sasaki’s talent, there’s little question that he would be able to command significantly more than that if he were to proceed normally through the posting system. Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed the richest free agent deal for a pitcher in MLB history earlier this winter, and it’s possible Sasaki could look to rival that sum through the posting system given his career 2.00 ERA and 34.4% strikeout rate in 46 NPB starts. Sasaski pairs a fastball that touches triple-digits with a forkball that has allowed him to dominate in the World Baseball Classic and become the youngster player in NPB history to throw a perfect game while setting an NPB record for strikeouts in a single start with 19.

Per a report from Kyodo News, Sasaki made no secret of his MLB aspirations during a recent press conference. The phenom was quoted as saying he has a desire to play in the majors “in the future,” that he has communicated that sentiment to Lotte every year, and that the club understands his goals. The report also includes comments from a Marines executive, Naoki Matsumoto. Matsumoto indicated that there was no truth to rumors of discord between Sasaki and the club regarding the right-hander’s future plans and that Sasaki’s desire to play in the majors was known to the club prior to the 2023 campaign.

Wade notes that some reports out of Japan have indicated that Sasaki has negotiated the ability to depart for the majors ahead of the typical posting timeline, perhaps even as soon as next offseason. With that being said, however, neither Sasaki nor the Marines have given a hint as to a timeline for the righty’s jump to the big leagues. When asked about a timeline for his move stateside at the aforementioned presser, Sasaki demurred in favor of focusing on the coming 2024 campaign. Whether that move ultimately comes next offseason or sometime in the future, Sasaki has flashed the potential to be a game-changing arm for any club and would instantly become one of the most attractive free agents in the class he joins.

Yomiuri Giants Sign Rougned Odor

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Veteran infielder Rougned Odor has signed with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball, according to Hochi Sports.  Odor had been a free agent since he was released by the Padres back in July.

Signed to a minor league deal last winter, Odor made San Diego’s Opening Day roster and appeared in 59 big league games, hitting .203/.299/.355 over 157 plate appearances.  He acted as a left-handed hitting complement to the Padres’ largely right-handed infield group, and also chipped in at several positions around the diamond.  Odor spent most of his time at his traditional second base spot, but also saw some playing time as a third baseman, and played some first base and right field for the first time in his MLB career.

Best known for his long stint as the Rangers’ everyday second baseman, Odor hit 127 homers over 2869 PA with Texas from 2015-19.  His power was essentially the only plus within an otherwise inconsistent offensive approach that included few walks and an increasingly large number of strikeouts, and Odor hasn’t posted an above-average (better than 100) wRC+ since the 2016 season.  For his career as a whole, Odor has an 85 wRC+ and a .230/.288/.422 slash line to go along with 178 career home runs.

The lack of production stood out given that Odor had signed a six-year, $49.5MM extension with the Rangers prior to the 2017 season.  Texas ended up trading Odor to the Yankees prior to the 2021 campaign, and Odor then caught on with the Orioles for the 2022 season.  Odor received some praise for his veteran leadership on a young O’s team that broke out to win 83 games, signalling the end of the club’s long rebuilding process.

Though he already has ten Major League seasons on his resume, Odor is still a couple of weeks shy of his 30th birthday.  He’ll now start his next decade with a new chapter in his baseball career as he heads to Japan, and whether he shows enough to catch the eye of Major League scouts for a future return to North America remains to be seen.  At the very least, Odor has secured a larger guaranteed payday for himself for 2024 than he would have found in the big leagues, as the infielder would’ve been limited to minor league offers.

Anderson Espinoza Signs With NPB’s Orix Buffaloes

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The Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball announced the signing of right-hander Anderson Espinoza this week. Orix also signed righty Luis Castillo for the 28-year-old’s second season in Japan.

Espinoza is the more well-known of the two former big leaguers. That’s largely on account of his prospect status. At one time regarded among the top minor league pitching talents, Espinoza was dealt from the Red Sox to the Padres for Drew Pomeranz at the 2016 deadline. Unfortunately, the 6’0″ righty was then beset by myriad injuries.

Elbow soreness was a precursor to Tommy John surgery in 2017. He spent two years rehabbing only to have a setback that required a second TJS. Between the surgeries and the canceled minor league season in 2020, Espinoza didn’t throw a single minor league pitch over four years.

San Diego traded him to the Cubs for veteran outfielder Jake Marisnick during the 2021 campaign. He reached the big leagues in Chicago, tossing 18 2/3 innings over seven relief outings. Espinoza turned in a 5.40 ERA in that limited time and was outrighted from the 40-man roster at year’s end.

He signed a minor league pact to return to the Padres a year ago. The 25-year-old had a full season from the rotation with Triple-A El Paso but struggled to a 6.15 ERA through 131 2/3 frames. He fanned a below-average 19% of opponents while issuing walks at a lofty 12% clip. The Friars opted against calling him back to the majors, setting the stage for his first trip to Japan.

Castillo, the lesser-known righty by that name, reached the majors for three relief outings with the Tigers in 2022. After a decade in the minors, he made the jump to NPB a year ago with the Chiba Lotte Marines. Castillo split his time almost evenly between the Marines and their minor league club. At the NPB level, he posted a 3.12 ERA over 49 frames. His 17% strikeout rate was modest but he showed impeccable control, only walking 1.5% of opposing hitters.

Andre Jackson Signs With NPB’s Yokohama BayStars

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Andre Jackson has signed with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, the team announced. The move comes a few weeks after he was designated for assignment and released by the Pirates.

Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported at the time that the DFA was a mutual decision to permit him to pursue an NPB opportunity. It wasn’t then clear with what team the 6’3″ righty would be signing. That’ll be a BayStars club that also recently added lefty Anthony Kay.

Jackson, 27, has spent the past seven years in affiliated ball. Drafted by the Dodgers in 2017, the University of Utah product reached the majors in ’21. He logged 39 innings over parts of three seasons with Los Angeles, working to a 4.15 ERA. The Dodgers DFA him and flipped him to the Pirates for cash in late June.

While Jackson had pitched exclusively in relief in L.A., the Pirates used him out of the rotation at times. Jackson started seven of 12 appearances in black and gold. He turned in a 4.33 ERA across 43 2/3 innings. His 23% strikeout rate was solid, but he also walked almost 11% of opponents. Command has been the main question throughout his career. He has walked 12.7% of batters faced while fanning just under 26% of hitters in his minor league tenure.

Jackson is out of minor league options and wasn’t firmly established on the MLB roster. Had he stayed in Pittsburgh, there was a decent chance they’d have tried to run him through outright waivers at some point. Jackson instead locks in a guaranteed salary in NPB, where he might get a full season working from the rotation. He’s certainly young enough to reemerge as an option for MLB teams in future offseasons.

Drew VerHagen To Sign With NPB’s Nippon-Ham Fighters

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Free agent right-hander Drew VerHagen is returning to the Nippon-Ham Fighters of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The Vayner Sports client is signing a two-year pact, the second season of which is a player option. He can earn close to $8MM in total over those two years, but the 33-year-old righty’s player option will ensure him an opportunity to again test MLB free agency next winter if he pitches well in his return to Japan.

It’ll be VerHagen’s second stint in Japan and his second with the Fighters. The right-hander spent the 2020-21 season with the Fighters as well, parlaying his 3.51 ERA in 207 2/3 innings there into a two-year, $5.5MM deal with the Cardinals in the 2021-22 offseason. (Anecdotally, VerHagen was the first player to sign a Major League contract after MLB’s 99-day lockout lifted.)

VerHagen’s first season in St. Louis didn’t go well, as injuries limited him to 19 appearances and 21 2/3 innings of 6.65 ERA ball. He underwent season-ending hip surgery midway through that 2022 campaign. The former Tigers righty rebounded nicely in 2023, however, piling up 61 innings out of Oli Marmol’s bullpen while notching a solid 3.98 ERA. VerHagen fanned 22.4% of his opponents against a 9.7% walk rate and kept the ball on the ground at a 42.2% clip.

VerHagen has more than five years of MLB service accrued over parts of eight seasons, but last year’s showing with the Cardinals was the best of his career. His 61 innings were a career-high, as were his 14 holds, and his 3.98 ERA was the lowest of his career outside of a 2.05 mark in 26 innings back with the 2015 Tigers.

It’s not especially common to see a player debut in the Majors, head overseas to NPB or the KBO, find success, come back to MLB, and then return to NPB or the KBO. VerHagen could take an even more atypical arc if he’s indeed able to once again leverage a strong season in Japan into another MLB offer.

Players generally don’t bounce back and forth from continent to continent in this manner, but VerHagen has primarily been a swingman and middle reliever in MLB, and that role tends to come with limited earning power. His openness to a globetrotting lifestyle could end up earning him more than $15MM when factoring in his previous two seasons with the Fighters, his two years in St. Louis, and this pending contract to return to Japan. It may not be a common course to chart, but it’s one that’s been quite lucrative for the righty.

VerHagen was a starter during his previous NPB stint, and if the Fighters plug him back into their rotation, he could conceivably use year one of this two-year pact to showcase himself as a rotation option for teams next winter. And, even if his performance dips or he incurs another injury and he chooses not to opt out, he’ll have the safety net of another strong seven-figure salary in year two of the deal.

Cubs Sign Shota Imanaga To Four-Year Deal

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The Cubs officially announced the signing of left-hander Shota Imanaga to a four-year contract. It’s reportedly a $53MM guarantee. The deal contains a fifth-year team option and could reach $80MM. The Cubs will need to decide after the 2025 and potentially ’26 seasons whether to exercise the option for 2028. If the club declines the option at either point, Imanaga would have the ability to opt out and become a free agent. He receives limited no-trade rights and would earn a full no-trade clause if the Cubs exercise either of their options.

On top of what they’ll pay Imanaga, the Cubs owe a posting fee to the Yokohama BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball. That’ll initially be a $9.825MM sum and would increase if the team exercises the option and/or Imanaga unlocks more money via escalators. The Cubs would owe the BayStars an additional 15% of whatever money the southpaw earns beyond the initial guarantee.

It’s the first MLB free agent pickup of the offseason for the Cubs. It’s a big acquisition, as the southpaw is one of the more intriguing pitchers in this year’s class. That makes the financial terms unexpected. At the beginning of the offseason, MLBTR predicted a five-year, $85MM contract. Reporting in recent weeks had suggested he could top $100MM. Even with the conditional opt-out possibilities, a $53MM guarantee and an $80MM maximum value comes in below general expectations.

Imanaga has spent the past eight seasons with the BayStars in his home country. He owns a career 3.18 ERA in a league generally regarded as the second-best level in the world. Imanaga has turned in a 3.08 or better in each of the past three seasons, including a sub-3.00 figure for the last two years.

During the 2023 campaign, he allowed 2.80 earned runs per nine through 148 innings. He led all NPB hurlers with 174 strikeouts, narrowly topping Dodgers’ $325MM signee Yoshinobu Yamamoto in that regard. That’s an impressive 29.2% clip that’s well above the 22.1% MLB average. He paired that with a tidy 4% walk rate, ranking him among NPB’s best pitchers at dominating the strike zone.

Despite the strong strikeout and walk profile, Imanaga doesn’t come with the kind of excitement generated by Yamamoto. That’s in part due to age. Having turned 30 last September, Imanaga is a typical age for a first-time free agent starter. More importantly, his repertoire points more toward a projection as a solid mid-rotation arm than a potential ace.

Evaluators with whom MLBTR spoke before the offseason suggested Imanaga profiles as a #3/4 pitcher in a big league rotation. Baseball America’s Kyle Glaser pegged him as a #4/5 type in a scouting report from early December. The 5’10” hurler typically sits in the low-90s with his fastball, touching the 94-95 MPH range in shorter stints.

Evaluators have credited him with above-average life on the pitch, allowing it to play for whiffs at the top of the strike zone despite the pedestrian velocity. Glaser writes that Imanaga backs that up with an above-average split but suggests his MLB upside may be capped by middling breaking stuff.

The main concern in Imanaga’s statistical profile has been the longball. He surrendered 17 homers last season, the second-most of any NPB pitcher. While some of that is attributable to workload — he was 15th in innings pitched — it hints at a fly-ball profile that could give some evaluators pause. The Yankees reportedly stayed on the periphery of the bidding in part because of concerns that Imanaga wouldn’t profile well in a very hitter-friendly home park. Statcast’s Park Factors rate Wrigley Field as slightly favorable to home runs, but it’s not among the top handful of hitting venues in MLB.

Imanaga’s stellar strikeout/walk profile and consistently strong results generated a decent amount of reported interest. The Red Sox, Giants and Angels were all reported to be in the bidding of late. He’ll bypass those teams to step into a Chicago rotation that seems likely to lose Marcus Stroman to free agency.

Imanaga joins Justin Steele, Kyle Hendricks and Jameson Taillon as locks for the Opening Day rotation. The likes of Jordan Wicks, Javier Assad, Hayden Wesneski and prospect Ben Brown could battle for the #5 job. There’s still plenty of time for president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and his front office to add another starter if they want to solidify the final spot and push all their younger, unproven arms into depth roles.

The fee to the BayStars is proportional to the contract value: 20% of the deal’s first $25MM ($5MM), 17.5% of the next $25MM ($4.375MM) and 15% of further spending ($450K). The 15% rate also applies to whatever future earnings Imanaga secures.

A posting fee is on top of the sum to the player but not included in the deal’s competitive balance tax calculation. The average annual value checks in at $13.25MM. According to Roster Resource, that’ll push the team’s CBT number north of $198MM. That’s nowhere near next year’s $237MM tax threshold. Evenly distributing the salaries would move the team’s 2024 payroll commitments to roughly $191MM — slightly beyond last year’s approximate $184MM Opening Day mark.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today first reported the Cubs had an agreement with Imanaga. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported the presence of various escalators and option provisions and the deal’s $80MM maximum value. ESPN’s Jesse Rogers reported the four-year, $53MM agreement, as well as the club option/opt-out possibilities after years two and three. Patrick Mooney of the Athletic reported the no-trade provisions.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

NPB’s Orix Buffaloes Sign Cody Thomas

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The Orix Buffaloes of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball announced the signing of outfielder Cody Thomas this week. The Octagon client became a minor league free agent at the end of the 2023 season.

An Oklahoma product, Thomas joined the professional ranks in 2016 as a Dodger draftee. Los Angeles traded him to the A’s shortly before Spring Training in 2021. Oakland added him to the 40-man roster after that season to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. Thomas reached the big leagues the following September.

The A’s gave Thomas brief MLB looks in each of the past two years. He made 10 appearances in 2022. Oakland designated the left-handed hitter for assignment but kept him in the organization after he cleared outright waivers. He made it back to the big leagues in July and got into 19 more games. Between the two seasons, he hit .250/.308/.333 with one homer over 78 plate appearances.

Oakland again waived Thomas in late August, sending him to the open market at year’s end. Rather than take a minor league contract, the 29-year-old heads to Japan. The Buffaloes are surely intrigued by the .292/.356/.585 batting line which Thomas has managed in parts of three Triple-A campaigns. Even in a very favorable Pacific Coast League hitting environment, that’s an impressive showing against minor league arms. He’ll look to carry that over against NPB pitching and could reemerge on the MLB radar a year or two from now.

Anthony Kay To Sign With NPB’s Yokohama BayStars

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Left-hander Anthony Kay is signing with the Yokohama BayStars of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (X link). It’ll be the first overseas stint for the CAA client.

Kay, 29 in March, is a former first-round pick of the Mets. Traded to the Blue Jays as a prospect in the Marcus Stroman deal, he debuted with Toronto in 2019. That kicked off a stretch of five seasons with some amount of MLB action. His largest workload came in 2021, when he logged 33 2/3 innings of 5.61 ERA ball.

The UCONN product remained with the Jays through the 2022 season. He bounced around the league last year, going to three different teams on waivers. Kay opened the season with the Cubs and briefly landed with the Mets at year’s end. During the postseason, the A’s claimed him. Oakland cut him loose a couple weeks later without any game action, sending him to the open market.

Kay has yet to find much MLB success. He owns a 5.59 ERA through 85 1/3 innings, working mostly in a long relief capacity. Middling control has been the primary culprit. Kay has walked upwards of 12% of batters faced in his MLB career. He handed out free passes at a 13.6% clip during his big league work last season and walked a nearly identical 13.7% of opponents over 37 1/3 innings in Triple-A.

Strike-throwing issues notwithstanding, Kay represents an intriguing flier for an NPB team. His fastball has averaged just under 95 MPH during his time in the majors. He has a reasonable 22.4% strikeout percentage in his big league career and fanned more than 31% of opposing hitters in Triple-A a year ago.

That ability to miss bats would’ve enabled Kay to find a minor league contract if he wanted to remain in affiliated ball. The opportunity in Japan allows him to lock in a salary that is surely above what he’d have made in Triple-A. He’ll take that avenue instead. If he pitches well in NPB, he could reemerge as a target for major league teams a year or two from now.

Latest On Shota Imanaga’s Market

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Shota Imanaga is among the more intriguing starting pitchers still on the free agent market. The Japanese left-hander became available to MLB teams on November 27, when he was formally posted by the Yokohama BayStars.

That opened a 45-day window for Imanaga to sign with a major league club. He’ll need to ink a contract with an MLB team by January 11 if he’s to make the jump to North America this offseason. With eight days to go, it’s little surprise Jeff Passan of ESPN reports that Imanaga’s market will gain steam this week. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reported around Christmas the southpaw was planning a trip to meet with interested teams shortly after the New Year.

The Red Sox, Giants, Mets and Cubs are among the teams that have been connected to Imanaga since his posting window opened. In mid-December, Jon Heyman of the New York Post also listed the Yankees as a team that was keeping an eye on Imanaga as a fallback option if they missed on Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

However, Heyman suggested in an appearance on Bleacher Report this afternoon (X link) that the Yankees weren’t enamored with the southpaw. Imanaga allowed 17 home runs in 148 innings a season ago, the second-most in Japan’s top league. New York’s front office seemingly has concerns about how well he’d profile in a park as hitter-friendly as Yankee Stadium.

Despite the home run concerns, the 30-year-old is going to do quite well financially. Imanaga led NPB with 174 strikeouts while issuing only 24 walks (a meager 4% rate). Some evaluators project him as a mid-rotation starter. Passan reiterated this morning that many executives feel he’ll land a contract in excess of $100MM. That’d be well above the five-year, $75MM pact secured by Kodai Senga last winter even though Senga was arguably coming off a better platform showing.

Senga had allowed just seven homers with a 27.5% strikeout rate and a sparkling 1.94 ERA in 2022. Imanaga had a slightly superior strikeout percentage (29.2%) and allowed 2.80 earned runs per nine last year. Senga was also entering his age-30 season. Unlike Imanaga, he was a true free agent, so the Mets weren’t required to send any compensation to his NPB club. Any team that signs Imanaga would owe the BayStars a fee valued at 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, 17.5% of the next $25MM, and 15% of further spending.

That said, it’s possible teams harbored reservations about Senga’s health that they won’t have regarding Imanaga. The Mets reportedly expressed some trepidation with his elbow during their physical. That obviously didn’t scuttle the deal, but it could’ve factored into his earning potential.

Imanaga may also benefit from the success Senga had in his first MLB campaign. The righty finished runner-up in NL Rookie of the Year balloting after posting a 2.98 ERA across 166 1/3 innings. That Senga looked like more than a mid-rotation starter in his first MLB season could give some clubs added confidence in projecting Imanaga’s ability to handle big league hitters with a fairly similar projection.

Kazuto Taguchi Interested In Move To MLB

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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.

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