Junichi Tazawa and baseball's Japanese free agent market

November 24, 7:54 PMAsian-American Sports ExaminerMichael Street

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Asian-American Sports Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Junichi Tazawa at a news conference in Japan (AP-File)

With MLB GMs at the winter meetings right now, the Hot Stove League is officially sizzling. Rumors are flying about trades and free agent acquisitions on both sides of the Pacific.

Jim Allen of The Daily Yomiuri writes on ESPN today that starting pitcher Kenshin Kawakami of the Chunichi Dragons leads the list of a weak free-agent class, followed by Koji Uehara. Uehara was the Yomiuri Giants starter who would have become the first amateur to come straight to America from Japan in 1998, if only the Angels had promised him they'd use him in the majors.

Instead, Junichi Tazawa became the first Japanese amateur to jump straight to the major leagues, bypassing the Nippon Professional Baseball draft last month.

And it's Tazawa that's bringing the real buzz this offseason, with teams fighting over who's offering him the biggest, or best, offer.

Brian Cashman of the Yankees started things off with a non-announcement, by saying that the Yankees would honor the gentleman's agreement between MLB and NPB by not pursuing Tazawa. Cashman said the Yanks might look to sign Yu Darvish, pitcher for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, who might available via the posting system.

Texas Rangers fans are crowing that they've given the groundbreaking Tazawa the highest offer, citing an AP wire that also indicates Tazawa would accept an offer by the end of the week. With the highest-paying, longest-duration contract out there, Texas presents the best financial option. But does Tazawa want to pitch in Arlington, where pitchers go to die in the hot summer months when the park plays like Coors Field?

Boston fans stake their claim to Tazawa, saying that their offer represents Tazawa's best chance to succeed, in a successful franchise alongside Dice-K and Hideki Okajima. This certainly seems like an attractive option to Tazawa, though there's no guarantee he'd ever pitch alongside his countrymen, if he doesn't pan out.

Atlanta has not only the pitching history and a young team, their offer also reportedly is the only one to guarantee him a spot on their 40-man major-league roster. But Atlanta finished fourth, and as a small-market team, they don't offer him money or the chance to win.

The Seattle Mariners have an offer in to him as well, but little is known about the details. They have Japanese players Ichiro Suzuki, Kenji Johjima, a Japanese owner, a strong Asian community, and baseball's first Asian-American manager. But with one of the worst records in baseball last season, it's hardly a team anyone would want to join.

Allen and others point out that Tazawa isn't proven the way the other Japanese free agents are, and that his skills may not be as impressive as advertised. But he's still brought the most attention this offseason, and we should know by the end of the week which team he'll end up on. 

After that, only time will tell if this turns out to be a truly hot Asian stove season or not.