Yu Darvish

Odds and Ends: Gammons, Kawakami, Buck

By Tim Dierkes | December 1, 2008 at 2:45pm CDT

Links for Monday…

Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik admitted to have a conversation with Ken Griffey Jr.’s agent, but wouldn’t reveal anything else.
One of Matthew Cerrone’s readers dug up a Primera Hora article saying the Mets have been scouting free agent reliever Fernando Cabrera.
Bob Klapisch looks at Pedro Martinez’s four-year, $53MM deal and asks: was it worth it?
Rays Index notes that Grant Balfour will use WBC participation as a bargaining chip in contract negotiations (he’s eligible for arbitration).
Marc Hulet of Baseball Analysts looks at top hitters for the Rule 5 draft.
Fire Brand of the American League did a Q&A with ESPN’s Peter Gammons. Some good stuff in there.
A few notes from Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker. The Hanshin Tigers are reportedly considering offering $20MM over four years to Kenshin Kawakami, while Yu Darvish had his contract renewed at $2.7MM for next year.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Mets want to add one starter and push Jonathan Niese to the #5 spot.
Rany Jazayerli notes that a John Buck trade would make sense for the Royals.
I mentioned the Royals’ signing of J.R. House earlier, but should add that they also signed Franquelis Osoria and Matt Tupman to minor league deals.

Darvish Wants 200 Wins In Japan

By Steve Adams | November 23, 2008 at 4:43pm CDT

Don’t look for Yu Darvish to be pitching in America any time soon. Patrick at NPB Tracker speculates that Darvish might actually be thankful for Junichi Tazawa taking some of the MLB spotlight and speculation off of him.

Darvish told a crowd of over 43,000 fans that he "isn’t dreaming of Major League Baseball," and wants to win 200 games in his Japanese career. He’s got a ways to go, but he’s about 25% of the way there with 48 career NPB wins.

Darvish, 22, has posted a 31-9 record with a 1.85 ERA and 418 Ks through 408.1 IP in the past two seasons. He also said he would accept an invitation to play for Japan in the World Baseball Classic.

Odds and Ends: Lee, Rogers, Beltre, Darvish

By Tim Dierkes | September 17, 2008 at 1:27pm CDT

Today’s random linkage…

The Indians signed 21 year-old pitcher Chen-Chang Lee out of Taiwan. Anthony Castrovince has the scouting report. East Windup Chronicle says the bonus is in the $350-400K range.
Kenny Rogers suggested Jim Leyland remove him from the rotation. Rogers still thinks he can pitch effectively next year at 44, however.
Geoff Baker notes an extra benefit to delaying Adrian Beltre’s surgery – the playing time could nudge him toward Type A status when he reaches free agency after the ’09 season.
Ken Davidoff of Newsday says Yu Darvish will probably not be posted this winter but could be after the ’09 season. Davidoff says the Giants, Orioles, and D’Backs have been heavily scouting Japan this year.
The Cubs are looking at contract extensions for Lou Piniella and Jim Hendry, according to Gordon Wittenmeyer.

Tazawa Ignites Controversy

By Tim Dierkes | September 15, 2008 at 9:19am CDT

Japanese amateur pitcher Junichi Tazawa is shaking things up – last week he asked the 12 Nippon Professional Baseball teams not to draft him. He wants to join an MLB team instead. His decision, coupled with interest from multiple MLB teams, is putting a major strain on MLB-NPB relations.

Peter Abraham of The Journal News had an informative article on the Tazawa situation yesterday. He says Tazawa’s decision is testing an informal agreement that MLB will not sign Japanese prospects. Abraham says the Red Sox, Mets, Braves, and Dodgers have scouted Tazawa. The Tigers, Pirates, Cubs, and Mariners may also be in the mix. The Red Sox are said to be in the lead. There’s no posting free for an unsigned player, though Tazawa may want a big league deal.

The Yankees will pass – GM Brian Cashman told Abraham he will honor the gentleman’s agreement between the two leagues. When the Yanks sent Gene Michael to Japan last week, it was apparently to scout Yu Darvish. Darvish’s availability this winter will hinge on the whims of the Nippon Ham Fighters. No one knows whether the Fighters will cash the 22 year-old in now for a possible $60-80MM posting fee.

NPB directors convened to discuss the Tazawa situation last week, and they’re sending a delegation to the U.S. to meet with MLB. Abraham suggests NPB could strike back if Bud Selig doesn’t step in to stop the pursuit of Japanese players before they are drafted. Abraham speculates Japan could pull out of the World Baseball Classic or even sign an American amateur player as retaliation. Or, as Patrick Newman suggested to me recently, a team like Softbank could jump in and sign Pedro Alvarez or Aaron Crow.

Yankees Send Michael To Japan

By Cork Gaines | September 8, 2008 at 9:20am CDT

Mark Feinsand is reporting that the Yankees have sent Gene Michael to Japan to scout potential acquisitions for ’09.

That Michael was sent to Japan for the first time signifies a shift for the Yankees, who have relied on their Pacific scouts for several years. Following the disastrous signing of Kei Igawa, however, the Yankees aren’t taking any chances, sending one of their most trusted talent evaluators to look at potential acquisitions.

Feinsand notes that it is unclear which players the Yankees are interested in, but does list several players that could be available including right-handers Koji Uehara, Kenshin Kawakami and lefty Hitoki Iwase, a reliever.

Feinsand does not mention the biggest potential prize, Yu Darvish. Previously the Yankees were listed as one of the teams with a scout at the Olympics to watch Darvish. While nobody is certain that Darvish will be posted this winter, if rumors of a $75MM posting fee are even close to accurate, the Yankees will have to be involved.

In July we looked at some potential free agents from Japan and last winter East Windup Chronicle ranked several Japanese pitchers, none of whom have yet to make the jump to the US.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

Odds and Ends: Ibanez, Dunn, Blake, Stewart

By Tim Dierkes | August 12, 2008 at 9:53am CDT

Let’s kick off the morning with some random links.

Live chat here today at 2pm CST.
Brian Matusz is hopeful about striking a deal with the Orioles by Friday’s deadline. Roch Kubatko has a source saying it’s likely.
Baseball America’s Jim Callis warns us not to listen to the posturing – he still expects all the first-round draft picks to sign with the possible exception of Allan Dykstra.
Should the Mariners offer Raul Ibanez a three-year deal at $10-11MM per?
No word yet on possible Rays acquisitions in wake of the Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria injuries. Marc Lancaster wonders if Kenny Lofton or…don’t say it…Barry Bonds would make sense.
The Mets had no interest in Adam Dunn. They wonder about his passion, according to Joel Sherman. Did you know he doesn’t like baseball?
The Phillies were more interested in Casey Blake than Manny Ramirez.
Athletics Nation looks at some free agent options for ’09.
Shannon Stewart didn’t understand his latest Blue Jay Experience.
The Yankees, Mets, Angels, and Padres have scouts at the Olympics to watch Hitoki Iwase, Koji Uehara, Kenshin Kawakami, Yu Darvish, and Kyuji Fujikawa.

Odds and Ends: Darvish, Giles, Teixeira

By Tim Dierkes | July 25, 2008 at 9:46am CDT

Today’s link roundup…

I was a guest on Get Sports Radio yesterday to talk about the Reds. Click here to download an mp3 of the show.
NPB Tracker notes that 21 year-old phenom Yu Darvish threw 165 pitches last night.
GM Dave Dombrowski says the Tigers are definitely not sellers. They’re undecided on whether to buy or stick with internal options. The Tigers’ approach to the relief market may hinge on Freddy Dolsi’s fatigued shoulder.
Buster Olney says the Mets and Padres have discussed right fielder Brian Giles. He’d earn $11MM in ’09 if traded. However, Joel Sherman doesn’t think Giles is on the Mets’ radar.
Learn about the PITCHf/x system in a Josh Kalk Q&A.
D’Backs beat writer Nick Piecoro doesn’t think there’s much to the Mark Teixeira rumors.
ESPN’s Keith Law isn’t impressed with Emilio Bonifacio. He’s also not a fan of the Cristian Guzman extension.
RotoAuthority finds a Tim Lincecum–Johnny Cueto parallel for fantasy baseball players to consider.

Odds and Ends: Phillips, Chacon, Hewitt, Griffey

By Tim Dierkes | July 1, 2008 at 5:22pm CDT

Random links for Tuesday.

Interesting news out of Philly…Brett Myers accepted a minor league assignment. The Phils seem likely to acquire a starter this month.
That was quick – the Mets designated Andy Phillips for assignment.
Shawn Chacon cleared waivers and was released without pay, but the players’ association plans to file a grievance. It’s a matter of a million bucks.
The Phillies signed first-round pick Anthony Hewitt, a high school infielder. He’ll get about $1.4MM.
The Cards officially inked top pick Brett Wallace, a college third baseman.
Three scouts watched Reds reliever David Weathers last night. Just throwing it out there, the Marlins are looking for a righthanded reliever.
NPB Tracker discusses Yu Darvish.
The Reds offered Ken Griffey Jr. to the Mariners, and they declined.
Tom Verducci’s article about Tim Lincecum and pitching biomechanics is a must-read.

Yu Darvish E-Ticket Article

By Tim Dierkes | May 13, 2008 at 1:42pm CDT

I always enjoy ESPN’s in-depth E-ticket articles. Jim Caple’s piece on Yu Darvish is no exception. In case you hadn’t heard, Darvish is the Next Big Thing in Japan. He’s a 21 year-old ace pitcher. A few highlights from the article:

The commonly kicked-around posting fee for Darvish is $75MM. Remember, everyone thought Dice-K would require $25-30MM and the fee ended up being $51.1MM. If Darvish received Dice-K’s six-year, $52MM deal and required an $80MM posting fee, he’d cost $22MM a year.
Darvish’s team, the Nippon Ham Fighters, didn’t allow Caple to ask about the MLB possibility. But the team’s GM has said that he’d probably post a player who requested it.
Does Darvish want to come to MLB? Opinions run the gamut on that question. A posting this winter is possible but far from certain.
Darvish’s father seems to want him to play in New York or Boston, if he comes to MLB.

Odds and Ends: Darvish, Maddux

By Tim Dierkes | April 14, 2008 at 9:19am CDT

Let’s kick off the day with some random links.

Baseball America’s Jim Callis profiles young phenom Yu Darvish, currently pitching in Japan. If he were MLB-bound, he’d be the third-best prospect in the game.
DRays Bay would like to see Edwin Jackson traded rather than Jason Hammel, if there’s a roster squeeze.
Greg Maddux has told some teammates that this is his last season. That nugget is only a small part of Tim Keown’s fantastic article about the legendary Professor.

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