NPB Tracker

Daily Sports is reporting that Kenshin Kawakami has hired American agent Tony Attanasio, with an eye toward MLB. Attanasio is notable in NPB circles for representing Ichiro. 

Kawakami’s move to MLB has been something of a forgone conclusion, but it’s inching closer to becoming a reality. Chunichi sealed the deal for themselves by reportedly offering Kawakami a 4 year deal that included a pay cut. The rationale was apparently that he failed to win in the second half of the season. I find it incredibly hard to believe that the Dragons would do such a thing, unless they are intentionally pushing him away.

The same article I linked to above notes that several MLB teams are interested in Kawakami, with the Red Sox named specifically. The article speculates that Kawakami could fulfill a swingman role for Boston, with Mike Timlin retiring and Justin Masterson taking some turns in the rotation. Kawakami was also scouted by numerous MLB teams during the Olympics and Playoffs.

The East Windup Chronicle covered Kawakami along with some others a few months ago, and Kawakami’s 2008 stats can be found in English at JapaneseBallPlayers.com.