Orioles Waiting on Kawakami
Updated, Jan 2: The rumor of a final offer from the Orioles to Kawakami has been debunked — Pete Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun has the details. I should note at this point that it was only Sanspo that ran this report, other Japanese sources have said simply that Kawakami and the Orioles are “deep in negotiations“.
Sanspo has published a report saying that the Orioles have made their final offer to Kenshin Kawakami, and are waiting for a response. According to the article, the O’s have concerns about the health of Kawakami’s throwing shoulder, and are offering an incentive-laden deal. Agent Dan Evans is holding out for a higher base salary. Given that it’s an incentive-laden deal, I’d speculate that it would be a short term contract as well. The concerns over Kawakami’s arm are a bit eyebrow-raising for me; Kawakami missed time with a strained back and an undisclosed minor injury last season, but had otherwise been pretty healthy recently.
Rumors persist that the Orioles are interested in Koji Uehara as a starter, and Baltimore was the only club to show any interest in catcher Ryoji Aikawa at all.
31/12/2008 at 10:37 pm Permalink
It don’t matter who the Orioles pick up in the free agent pitchers pool, wait ’til the big three are fully developed down in the minors. Here’s to looking forward to the 2011 season and so on.
04/01/2009 at 9:28 am Permalink
A report from Chunichi Sports by way of the Sunday Japan Times has Kawakami down to three teams, Orioles, Cardinals and Twins.
(Just discovered this site for the first time. Looks great. Nice work!)