Yu Darvish

Odds & Ends: Zobrist, Pierzynski, Lowe, Padres

By Mike Axisa | April 23, 2010 at 2:14pm CDT

Links for Friday…

Ben Zobrist said signing his extension was a "no-brainer," according to Marc Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times.
Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com tweets that he doesn't see A.J. Pierzynski as a good fit for the Red Sox because he's not a good thrower. Pierzynski has thrown out just 24% of base stealers in his career. Earlier today we learned that the White Sox were gauging their catcher's value.
Joel Sherman of The New York Post mentions that while the Oliver Perez signing hasn't worked out for the Mets, their second choice was Derek Lowe, who isn't looking all that hot either.
The Padres have improved their team by building a speedy club better suited for their ballpark, says Scott Miller of CBSSports.com.
Mike Rutsey of The Toronto Sun says the Blue Jays should replace the struggling Lyle Overbay with Brett Wallace.
SI.com's Tom Verducci notes the increased diversity that has developed within the game in recent years. In the same piece, he notes that several clubs have increased their scouting of Yu Darvish in case his team decides to post him after the season.

Odds & Ends: Paxton, Darvish, D’Backs

By Tim Dierkes | April 1, 2010 at 1:57pm CDT

Links for Thursday…

Rays infielder Elliot Johnson is the latest out of options player to hit the waiver wire, reports Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.
Lefty James Paxton signed with the American Association's Grand Prairie AirHogs in advance of re-entering the draft, reports Baseball America's J.J. Cooper. Cooper says the AirHogs' schedule should allow for three weeks of playing time for Paxton before the draft. The Blue Jays drafted the Scott Boras client 37th overall as an A.J. Burnett compensation pick, but were not able to sign him. Paxton was involved in some drama with the NCAA and eventually decided to withdraw from the University of Kentucky.
Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a clarification from Yu Darvish, who says his recent comments did not refer to moving to MLB.
Forced to make a pick, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports takes the White Sox as his World Series champions.
Rosenthal says that with Brandon Webb's return date uncertain, the Diamondbacks are trying to trade for a starter.
Aaron Gleeman suggests the Twins' new stat guy might have a hard time having his voice heard.
WEEI's Alex Speier notes that a Josh Beckett extension would give the Red Sox four pitchers with contracts of at least four years, more than any other team. Still, Jon Lester's contract is quite team-friendly.
The Red Sox are positioned as long-term contenders, writes Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe.
Baseball Prospectus' Jeff Euston looks at the concept of contract renewals for zero-to-three players. Tom Tango responds, saying "the inequity in the front-end helps to drive the salaries on the back-end in free agency."
Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press feels that Ben Revere would be the most expendable Twins' prospect if they are to go after Padres closer Heath Bell.
Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets that the Brewers released outfielder Tike Redman.

Odds & Ends: Gaudin, Stairs, Lowell, Darvish

By Tim Dierkes | March 29, 2010 at 9:55pm CDT

Links for Monday…

FoxSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi spoke to one executive who thinks the lack of open 40-man roster spots is inhibiting trades. There are only 28 open spots across the league, and more than half of the teams are maxed out.
Chad Gaudin said he considered "a couple" of other teams before deciding to rejoin the A's, reports MLB.com's Jane Lee.
MLB.com's Corey Brock reminds us that the Padres will have to remove someone from their 40-man roster before Opening Day to make room for Matt Stairs.
The Rangers have a scout on hand to watch Mike Lowell play third base tonight, tweets ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes. This deal has to get done eventually, right?
The Braves were concerned the Marlins would take Jason Heyward at #12 in the 2007 draft, writes Yahoo's Jeff Passan.
Yu Darvish hinted for the first time that he might be willing to come to MLB, says Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker. Newman passes along a Sponichi report in which Darvish said, "Well, I’m planning on climbing the ladder, step by step," when asked about moving to MLB one day. Newman notes that Darvish isn't close to free agency, so the Nippon Ham Fighters would have to post him.
SI's Jon Heyman writes that the Mariners and Jarrod Washburn "are believed to remain apart on the dollars for a new deal."
Brian Cashman and Johnny Damon met in person for the first time since Damon left the Yankees, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
MLB.com's Peter Gammons names six clubs that might be better than you think.

Fangraphs On Indians, Dodgers, Darvish

By Mark Polishuk | March 25, 2010 at 6:48pm CDT

The gang over at Fangraphs continued their rankings of each team's organizational structure, and also provided an update on arguably the most intriguing prospect in Japan…

The Indians are 13th in Fangraphs' rankings. Dave Cameron says "despite the backlash against the Indians front office for the lack of results, this is still one of the best run organizations in the game." Cameron's prediction of big things in the future for the Tribe is backed up by Bryan Smith 's rundown of Cleveland's minor league system, focusing on GM Mark Shapiro's recent shrewd deals for prospects.
While the Dodgers are just a rung below in the #14 spot, Cameron is not impressed with the franchise thanks to the ongoing divorce and ownership dispute between Frank and Jamie McCourt. Cameron describes the McCourts "as people you don’t want owning your team." Marc Hulet's look at L.A.'s future prospects is similarly downbeat, though Hulet notes that many of the Dodgers' most recent blue-chip prospects are currently delivering at the major league level.
Patrick Newman breaks down the incredible numbers of Yu Darvish and calls him the "real deal," noting that Darvish has had three seasons better than Daisuke Matsuzaka's best efforts in NPB. While Darvish may be capable of pitching in the majors, however, Newman says that "Darvish has been outspoken about not wanting to make the leap to MLB." Newman mentions rumors that the half-Iranian Darvish may not want to play in the United States due to a possible backlash over his ethnicity, though Newman has never seen Darvish ever specifically comment on this issue.

Odds & Ends: Sheffield, Matsui, Darvish

By Tim Dierkes | December 9, 2009 at 11:42am CDT

Kicking off a fresh Odds & Ends post for Day 3 of the Winter Meetings in Indianapolis…

NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman says reliever Ryota Igarashi received a one-year big league offer from an unknown team.
Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says Justin Duchscherer would like to pitch for the D'Backs, but a deal is not likely. He also notes that the D'Backs denied offering Chris Snyder to the Rangers for C.J. Wilson.
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe learned that Gary Sheffield has four suitors currently, the Red Sox not among them.
John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle names the A's as a "possible suitor" for Hideki Matsui, which ESPN's Keith Law thinks would be pointless.
Wezen-Ball gives us the history of the highest-paid player in baseball, from Nolan Ryan onward.
Yu Darvish became the youngest player in Japanese baseball history (he's 23) to reach 300 million yen when he re-signed for 330 million, reports Kyodo News. That comes to about $3.75MM currently.
Newsday's Ken Davidoff notes that Rudy Seanez wants to pitch next year.
ESPN's Mike Salk says the Mariners "specifically chose" Jack Wilson over J.J. Hardy.

Heyman On Matsui, Bradley, Dye, Chapman

By Zachary Links | September 28, 2009 at 1:30pm CDT

Hideki Matsui is in the final year of a four-year, $52MM extension he signed with the Yankees following the 2005 campaign. At the age of 35, Matsui turned in one of his best seasons in the majors, posting .280/.373/.521 and 28 HRs. However, it doesn't appear that Hideki Matsui is a capable fielder at this stage of his career after all the injuries he has been through. Having not taken the field once all season, Matsui is strictly an American League player. As Tim Dierkes pointed out last week, if Matsui looks to sign elsewhere, he will find himself vying for 8 or less DH openings with 11 or so others.

SI.com's Jon Heyman touches on that situation and much more in today's offering. Here's a look at some of his rumors:

Those close to Matsui say his first choice is to stay with the Yanks. However, the Yankees may have to let him walk as the DH spot will be needed for Jorge Posada and others.
Heyman mentions Ken Rosenthal's report that John Farrell will not be able to take a managerial job in 2010 because of a clause in his contract with the BoSox. Heyman then adds, "Sometimes those clauses can be negotiated away."
The Padres are one of the "rare" teams that have a level of interest in Milton Bradley. Sources indicate that it is a "long shot" that he will wind up in Texas.
Heyman addresses some of the lesser-heralded free agents in the upcoming class and estimates how much they will receive in their new deals. Here are his guesses: Mark DeRosa, $24MM over three years; Nick Johnson, $16MM over two years; Adam LaRoche, $25MM over three years; Joel Pineiro, $15MM over two years.
The White Sox will not pick up Jermaine Dye's $12MM option in all likelihood. This should come as no surprise considering the 35-year-old's dismal second half. Since August 1st, Dye has registered an OPS of .576.
One GM told Heyman that he holds Stephen Strasburg and Yu Darvish in higher regard than highly-touted Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman.

Chapman, Darvish And Strasburg

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 17, 2009 at 1:58pm CDT

Aroldis Chapman, Yu Darvish and Stephen Strasburg "represent the best pitching talent in the world that is not yet in the major leagues," so ESPN.com's Keith Law grades the trio of pitchers. Here's his take on each one:

Aroldis Chapman is a 21-year-old lefty who just defected from Cuba. He relies on a fastball that touches 100 mph and has the makings of a good slider. That combination could make him a top reliever and better secondary stuff could help him realize his ceiling and become a top starter.
Yu Darvish is a 22-year-old righty who pitches in the NPB and has said he doesn't think about pitching in the States. He relies mostly on a low-90s fastball and a slider, but has other pitches. Right now, Law says Darvish could do better in the majors than the other two pitchers because of his deeper repertoire and experience against top competition.
When the Nats selected Stephen Strasburg first overall in last month's draft, they got a pitcher who can touch 100 mph and throws a power curve. Law suspects that minor leaguers won't hit the 20-year-old righty, so he may have to learn in the majors. Of the three pitchers, Law says Strasburg is the best long-term choice to become an elite starter.

Odds And Ends: Red Sox, Strasburg, Halladay

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 8, 2009 at 1:49pm CDT

Links for Wednesday afternoon…

WEEI.com's Alex Speier reports that the Red Sox signed two international players named Alcantara to six-figure bonuses, but they are unrelated and neither one is related to former Red Sox player Izzy Alcantara. Mario Alcantara and Raul Alcantara are both right-handed pitchers.
The Baltimore Sun reports that the Red Sox signed Johns Hopkins graduate Chez Angeloni as a free agent.
Keith Law tells Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker that Stephen Strasburg has more upside than Yu Darvish, though Darvish has faced better competition.
Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe asks Red Sox fans to slow down on the Roy Halladay talk, because Theo Epstein has given no indication that the Red Sox are interested.
Jorge Says No! suggests the Jays should ask teams to take on a bad contract in any Halladay deal. They have a few overpaid players to choose from, especially Vernon Wells and B.J. Ryan.
I'll be on ESPN Radio in Madison at 3:40 CST talking trades on The Big 1070. Also, check out my chat with the Benchwarmers on 590 KFNS from last night.

Odds And Ends: Gonzalez, Pirates, Batista

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 29, 2009 at 12:48pm CDT

Yankees Scouting Yu Darvish

By | May 9, 2009 at 2:31pm CDT

According to Japan's Sports Hochi, via Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker, the Yankees had three scouts on hand to watch Yu Darvish pitch Friday night. Darvish didn't dominate, but he held the opposition to one earned run on four hits and fanned four batters.

We've covered Darvish at length here at MLBTR. He won't be a free agent until 2014, but he's only 22 and already has multiple major league teams tracking his progress.

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