NPB Tracker

A couple of notes to pass along regarding Japanese player activity at this week’s MLB winter meetings:

• Sponichi is reporting that the Astros are interested in So Taguchi. Agent Alan Nero has talked to five teams so far and is continuing to shop Taguchi around.
• Tadahito Iguchi will be in the States during the meetings, and hopes to decide on a 2009 team by the 20th. Iguchi has offers on both sides of the Pacific, and has reportedly already decided against returning the Phillies.
• Ken Takahashi’s agent isn’t expecting to see any movement for his client until the meetings start. Takahashi has been working out with a Major League ball.
• The Orioles are reportedly preparing to offer both Kenshin Kawakami and Koji Uehara 2-year/$10m deals. This seems surprisingly low to me. Even in this bad economy, the Giants still found $8m for Jeremy Affeldt. 
• Another report has an international scout from an AL East team putting the market for Uehara at 2 years, $5m. I think he would be a tremendous bargain at that price.
• I had read that Rakuten manager Katsuya Nomura would be in attendance at the winter meetings, but I think the Golden Eagles are done shopping this offseason. SoftBank, HIroshima, Lotte and possibly Hanshin still have foreign player slots open and could be active at the meetings.
• And this last one isn’t really winter meetings related, but I’ll through it out anyway. Remember Akinori Otsuka? He spent the year training and rehabbing after his injury in 2007. He wrote of his good relationship with new Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu in his blog, so I’ll speculate that if he’s healthy enough to pitch in 2009, Seattle might be the place. Otsuka seems to maintain a residence in San Diego, and he would be a Padres-type signing.

Things have been eerily quiet for Kenshin Kawakami and Koji Uehara, but are starting to pick up.

• Yahoo Japan has a Sponichi report saying that the Angels have already been in contact with Kawakami’s agent, Dan Evans. The Angels are said to be put off by Jon Garland’s salary demands and looking to replace him in the back of their rotation. Kawakami will probably cost substantially less than Garland, unless Garland overplays his hand like Kyle Lohse did last year. 
• Baltimore is also planning to negotiate with both Kawakami and Uehara at the winter meetings. The O’s are said to be interested in Ken Takahashi as well.
• Uehara hasn’t attracted any offers yet, but his agent has been in touch with the Tigers and the Giants.

Yahoo Japan Sports has a piece on four teams’ lack of interest in Japanese free agents. Warning, translations of translations coming up:

• San Diego’s Kevin Towers: “We don’t have much room in our budget this offseason. We’re not going to be active in acquiring players”.
• Chicago’s Kenny Williams: “We really like Uehara, Kawakami, Takahashi, and Aikawa,” before adding, “we don’t have the budget to get involved in the Japanese market”.
• Cleveland’s Mark Shapiro: “We know Uehara, Kawakami and Takahashi but we’re not making it a priority to acquire them. This offseason we have budget limitations and looking to one or two players; an infielder and an experienced closer”.
• Milwaukee’s Doug Melvin: “We won’t acquire a Japanese free agent”.

Kenshin Kawakami: Word has it that the Rangers are interested.

Koji Uehara: Training with a Major League ball. Expected to see some movement on him at the Winter Meetings.

Ken Takahashi: Reportedly has offers from multiple MLB teams. The Cubs, Mets, Padres and Brewers are noted as interested.

Ryoji Aikawa: Worked out for a couple of MLB teams earlier in the month, still waiting to hear back. Aikawa will meet with Yakult again in December and wants to make a decision by the end of the year.

Norihiro Nakamura: Moving to Rakuten. 

Daisuke Miura: Staying with Yokohama.

Toshihiro Noguchi: Having a second round of negotiations with the BayStars on December 1. Looks set to replace Aikawa in Yokohama.

We interupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you non-Tazawa news.

Kenshin Kawakami and Koji Uehara are slowly beginning to make news. I expect to hear a lot more about them after CC Sabathia, Derek Lowe, Ben Sheets, AJ Burnett, and Junichi Tazawa sign. There are a few items to pass along though.

Kawakami: Has reportedly changed agents from Tony Attanasio to former Dodgers GM Dan Evans, the agent that got Kosuke Fukudome signed with the Cubs. Initially it was reported that Evans would only handle Kawakami’s negotiations with Japanese teams, but that doesn’t seem to be the case any longer.

Hanshin seems to be the only NPB team interested in signing Kawakami. It was previously reported they would offer 4 years, $18M, but it’s since been reported that they are prepared to offer a deal in excess of 3 years, $18M. An average salary of $6M+ seems a lot more likely to get a deal done, but I still think he’s headed to the Majors. 

On the MLB side of the Pacific, the Giants, Mets, and Red Sox have been mentioned as possible suitors. Being a Bay Area resident I know which one I’d go for.

Uehara: Uehara is looking for a multi-year deal that will let him remain a starter. Nikkan Sports suggests that eight teams might be interested: the Orioles, Giants, Yankees, Mets, Angels, Rangers, Indians, and Twins. Any team that needs rotational depth and isn’t afraid to commit to two years could be a fit for Uehara.

I’ve also updated my free agent list, with resolutions for all but the seven guys that filed. And let’s squeeze in a link to EWC’s MLB projections for Uehara and Kawakami.

NPB’s free agency filing period ended on the 19th (JST) with seven players exercising their rights to become free agents. Unlike MLB, in NPB it’s not a given that players eligible for free agency will actually file. It’s actually the exception rather than the rule. It’s worth exploring why that is, but that’s a post for another day. For now, let’s take a look at the seven guys who filed and where they’ll wind up.

Koji Uehara (P, Yomiuri Giants): Written plenty on Uehara already. I see him going to the Cardinals as a swingman.

Kenshin Kawakami (P, Chunichi Dragons): Written about him too. I think he’ll sign with the Braves and fill a mid-rotation spot. 

Ken Takahashi (P, HIroshima Carp): Veteran lefty wants to try MLB. The Mets seem like a logical fit.

Ryoji Aikawa (C,  Yokohama BayStars): Wants to play in the majors, and has hired Alan Nero as his agent. Has already worked out for a couple of MLB teams. He’ll probably only command a minor league deal, so he’ll probably get a short with someone looking for organizational depth at catcher. Maybe Detroit. 

Daisuki Miura (P, Yokohama BayStars): Decided to test the market. Will discuss a move to the majors if it comes up. Hanshin is making a play for him, and I think that’s where he’ll wind up.

Toshihiro Noguchi (C, Hanshin Tigers): Veteran backup catcher is exploring his options. Hanshin seems resigned to him leaving. I think he’ll wind up with Yokohama to replace Aikawa.

Norihiro Nakamura (3B, Chunichi Dragons): Previously said that he wanted to finish his career with Chunichi, changed his mind when they only offered him a one-year deal and decided to move him off third. Rakuten and Nippon Ham are both interested in his services, but I’ll give Rakuten the edge in signing him.

These players are free to begin negotiating with teams from the 20th.

The NPB free agency filing period began yesterday, giving players eligible players 10 days to excercise free agency or stay put. In a shock to no one, Koji Uehara didn’t waste any time in informing the Yomiuri Giants of his intent to cross the Pacific. Uehara will become the second Giants star to move to MLB, after Hideki Matsui. Giants representative thanked Uehara for his 10 years of hard work for the team.

Uehara also announced that he has hired SFX to represent him in upcoming negotiations.

Speculation of Uehara’s destination has already begun. The Mets and Angels are reportedly interested in Uehara for a relief role, while the Orioles like him as a starter. Sponichi quotes Baltimore exec as saying, “There are a lot of good experienced professional players in Japan. Uehara? He’s one of them”. Sponichi also speculates that the Brewers might be a good fit given the potential departure of CC Sabathia.

My wild guess of a prediction for Uehara is the Cardinals. Dave Duncan has a way of getting the best of his staff, and the Cards could use him in a swingman role. What kind of contract he commands will really depend on whether teams view him as a starter or a reliever.

Seibu wins! The Lions overcame two shakey innings from veteran starter Fumiya Nishiguchi take game 7 3-2, and the series 4-3. Nishiguchi struggled this year with injuries and ineffectiveness, and starting him was a risky call, but he at least gave the Lions two innings without letting the game get out of hand. This set up the Lions to use Kazuhisa Ishii, Hideaki Wakui, and Alex Graman for two innings each, which was enough to shut down the Giants the rest of the way.

On the Giants side, Koji Uehara didn’t manage to make a farewell appearance, meaning his Yomiuri career has likely ended with his disappointing game 5 performance.

Three of the four competitors in the upcoming Asia Series will be nicknamed Lions, with only Korea’s Samsung failing to make the cut. There will still be three Lions competing for the Konami Cup though, giving the series an Anglophile feel.

• Tsubamegun has probably the most detailed write-up you’ll see of game 7 anywhere.
• Simon has a post with pics at jhockey. Check out the air Series MVP Takayuki Kishi gets in his ceremonial dou-age. The Lions don’t seem to be able to propel manger Watanabe quite that high… the pics should make it clear why.
• Deanna has a quick write-up as well. Her game 4 write-up has some phenomenal pics.
• myworldofbaseball has a post on game 7 as well, extolling the virtues of Hiroshi Hirao’s performance.
• Japanball has the official Kyodo summary.
• BaseballReference has the whole Series documented. 
• Sanspo has a whole bunch of pics.
• And finally, a thread has been started at JapaneseBaseball.com.

I had to work late on Wednesday; late enough to catch the first couple of innings of Game 5 of the Japan Series, which was started by MLB-bound Koji Uehara. Uehara clearly didn’t have his best stuff — his breaking pitches were flat and he left several out over the plate. The Lions took advantage, cranking out seven hits in their first 17 at-bats. Hara removed Uehara after three innings of work, for a final line of:

Uehara got himself in to and out of jams in the 1st and 3rd innings and limited the damage by avoiding walks and home runs, but was otherwise pretty hittable. The Yomiuri relievers shut down the Lions down the rest of the way, as the Giants came back to win and take a 3-2 series lead.

Game 5 was probably the last time we’ll see Uehara pitch for the Giants. I’m holding out a little hope that the Giants will find a way to get him in to game 6 or 7 as a reliever, but with a deep bullpen that’s not likely unless we see extra innings. I think he can go out on a higher note than than this.

Once again I’m checking out the Japan Series on Justin.tv and chatting with the community at JapaneseBaseball.com. If you’re up late, I highly recommend stopping by.

Tonight’s game features Koji Uehara going up against Seibu ace Hideaki Wakui.