Rakuten Hoping For $16MM Posting Fee On Iwakuma
We heard earlier in the month that the Rakuten Golden Eagles had committed to posting right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma. Patrick Newman from NPB Tracker tweets that the bidding will begin tomorrow, and the Golden Eagles are hoping for a posting fee of around $16MM-$17MM.
Any team looking to sign Iwakuma would have to then also negoitate the right-hander's contract. The 29-year-old posted solid numbers across the board this year with a 2.82 ERA, 6.9 K/9, and 1.6 BB/9 over 201 innings. That marked Iwakuma's fourth straight season posting an ERA of 3.40 or better.
At 29 years old (30 next April), Iwakuma likely still has several good years left in his arm. Newman has said recently that Iwakuma is the second-best MLB pitching prospect currently in NPB. A posting fee that high, however, will undoubtedly limit the number of interested teams, despite a thin market for free agent starting pitching this season.
There's also the risk factor of bringing on a Japanese starter. While some, like Hiroki Kuroda, deliver on the investment, no team wants to end up with a Kei Igawa situation on their payroll.
Odds & Ends: Mets, Reds, Nationals, Cardinals
Links for Monday, as impending free agent lefties Cliff Lee and Andy Pettitte prepare to duel in New York…
- Jon Heyman of SI (via Twitter) doesn't think that Dana Brown, an "[Omar] Minaya disciple", has a good chance of landing the Mets GM job. Brown will reportedly meet with the club on Wednesday.
- RotoAuthority attempts to find the next Carlos Gonzalez for fantasy players.
- Cody Ross is expected to be tendered a contract this winter by the Giants, and he told John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle, "I'd like to stay for my career." Ross also revealed that he's been pushing former teammate Dan Uggla to sign with the Giants after next season.
- Forget about the Reds signing Carl Crawford, suggests MLB.com's Mark Sheldon. Sheldon sees the Reds attempting to find a more affordable leadoff hitter.
- Patrick Newman of FanGraphs looks at the repertoire of starter Hisashi Iwakuma, who will be posted by the Rakuten Golden Eagles. The righty, 30 in April, excels at limiting home runs. Newman estimates a posting fee in the $10MM range plus a contract of four years and $20MM.
- Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider examines Washington's 2011 payroll commitments and finds that they will have less than $50MM committed. He doesn't know if they'll bump payroll to the $80MM range, but if so they could be big offseason spenders. For MLBTR's look at the Nationals' twelve arbitration eligible players, click here.
- MLB.com's Matthew Leach spoke to Jake Westbrook about the future, shortly before the season ended.
- Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch outlines the battle for Cardinals 40-man roster spots.
- The Yankees' Jesus Montero is the best hitting prospect left in the minors, writes Baseball America's Jim Callis.
Rakuten Golden Eagles Post Hisashi Iwakuma
The Rakuten Golden Eagles have officially committed to posting pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma, relays NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman on Twitter from multiple Japanese media reports. Rakuten can file with the commissioner's office starting November 1st, after which point teams can bid for the exclusive right to negotiate with Iwakuma. Iwakuma will be represented by Don Nomura, who previously served as the agent for Hideo Nomo and Hideki Irabu, among others.
Iwakuma, 30 in April, posted a 2.82 ERA, 6.9 K/9, 1.6 BB/9, and 0.49 HR/9 in 201 innings this year. In August, Newman rated him as "the second best MLB pitching prospect currently active in NPB" in a FanGraphs article. He described Iwakuma as "a fairly standard fastball/slider/forkball righty."
Japanese pitchers coming to MLB have been all over the place in recent years, even focusing on the more expensive ones. Perhaps Iwakuma can emulate Hiroki Kuroda, who gave the Dodgers three years and 497 innings of 3.60 ball for $35.3MM. Unlike Iwakuma, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Kei Igawa, Kuroda did not require a posting fee. I would not expect an excessive posting fee for Iwakuma, since the winner will also have to negotiate his contract on top.
Odds & Ends: Iwakuma, Ichiro, Red Sox, Barmes
Links for Sunday evening, with the regular season behind us and the playoff picture defined…
- Angels GM Tony Reagins tells Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Times he's "confident we'll be able to add an important piece."
- As passed along by NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman on Twitter, Sanspo reports that a posting announcement will come soon regarding Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma. The righty, 30 in April, posted a 2.82 ERA, 6.9 K/9, 1.6 BB/9, and 0.49 HR/9 in 201 innings this year for Rakuten.
- Ichiro Suzuki's 10-and-5 rights kicked in today after the Mariners' game, tweets Larry Stone of the Seattle Times.
- In his end-of-the-season press conference, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein indicated fixing the bullpen and retaining important free agents are his offseason priorities (WEEI's Alex Speier reporting). Epstein fielded all kinds of questions and was noncommittal in most cases, but the transcript is still worth a read.
- Clint Barmes would like to return to the Rockies if he can't find an everyday role elsewhere, he explained to Jim Armstrong of the Denver Post. We discussed Barmes' non-tender candidacy in August, and 79% of MLBTR readers predicted he'll be cut loose.
- The Dodgers officially announced Brad Ausmus' retirement with a press release. Ausmus revealed his decision to reporters in July.
Hisashi Iwakuma Wants To Join MLB
It seems that Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma wants to try and head to MLB via posting after the season, according to Jason Coskrey of the Japan Times (via Twitter). According to Patrick Newman in a piece for Fangraphs, the Rakuten Eagles standout is the second best MLB pitching prospect in NPB.
The 29-year-old right-hander is described by Newman as a "fairly standard fastball/slider/forkball" pitcher who can reach 95 mph on the gun but typically stays around 90-91 mph. Iwakuma has a rather lanky frame, standing at 6"3' and weighing just 170 pounds.
While Rakuten won't be eager to part with their star hurler, he is set to be eligible for international free agency after 2011. Newman tells MLBTR that the club may find it more palatable to cash in on him rather than lose him for nothing.
Morimoto And Iwakuma Qualify For Free Agency
Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker passes along a pair of reports indicating that Hichori Morimoto and Hisashi Iwakuma have accrued enough service time in Japan to qualify for domestic free agency.
Morimoto, a 29-year-old center fielder for the Nippon Ham Fighters, said “I’m interested, you know, in America”, before adding, “I care about how other teams evaluate me, but playing for the Fighters is the best.” A winner of multiple Gold Gloves, the speedy Morimoto is hitting .301/.348/.406 with just three steals this year, but he's a .275 hitter with a .327 OBP with 65 steals in his four seasons as a full-time player.
Iwakuma is a 29-year-old starting pitcher that opened eyes with three dominant starts (and one relief appearance) in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. The righthander has posted a 2.72 ERA in 102.2 innings for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles this year, and he owns a 3.36 ERA in more than eight years of NPB experience.
Newman mentions that Iwakuma is under contract for next season, but expects him to make the move to MLB following the 2011 season as long as he remains healthy and effective. He is represented by IMG.