Tazawa Decision Draws Nigh
by Jeff Sullivan on Nov 24, 2008 3:45 PM PST
in Seattle Mariners News, Regular
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PrintHideaki Okubo, manager of the Nippon Oil team that Tazawa pitches for, said the Braves, Red Sox and Mariners are also involved. Okubo said the Rangers have made the largest offer to Tazawa.
"Now that these offers are on the table, a conclusion will be reached in three or four days," Okubo said.
So to review:
- Texas has reportedly offered the biggest contract
- The Red Sox are considered the front-runners in part because Daisuke Matsuzaka is Tazawa's hero
- The Braves have reportedly offered a Major League deal worth $4-5m
- Nobody knows what the Mariners put on the table
Tazawa's set to leave his current team tomorrow, and it's assumed that he'll make his decision shortly thereafter. Given the way the year has gone for Seattle sports, I expect Tazawa to sign with Boston on a minor league deal and then call home to inform his family and fellow countrymen that the way in which the Mariners approached negotiations was unprofessional and impossibly racist.
Update: looks like the Mariners offered three years and $3m, with incentives. It wasn't enough; Boston apparently won.
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I guess this is Z's first big test
Whether or not we sign him is irrelevant, once we get some kind of idea how we went about negotiating and what kind of offer we laid out there, we should at least have something other than personal decisions to judge Z on.
by mariners124m on Nov 24, 2008 3:48 PM PST reply actions
I wouldn't be surprised if this was all ownership
by Jeff Sullivan on Nov 24, 2008 3:54 PM PST up reply actions
This is a good point
And if that’s the case, then either two things will happen
We’ll fuck it up epically and he won’t even consider signing
or
We’ll fuck it up epically and give him way too much money for way too many years
by mariners124m on Nov 24, 2008 9:27 PM PST up reply actions
Poking around a bit
there seem to be an awful lot of people who think Tazawa’s already settled on the Red Sox.
I really hate the Red Sox
I am no longer in Spokane, but I think I'll keep the name anyway.
No matter where he ends up,
he doesn’t appear to be the prospect that Viciedo is. I’ve heard varying reports on Tazawa-san’s final decision, but I have faith that the M’s would be in the running based solely on Ichi, Kenji, and the Ownership. Iif you are coming to the states, why not pitch for a better team with an established Japanese pitcher to take the heat off of you?
Can't wait for Ruskell to knock this one out of the park.
I thought the Mariners had offered a major league contract.
Am I not remembering my sources correctly, or was it just speculation that I was reading anyway? I would have expected that kind of thing to come out in the Times or the P-I.
I think Tazawa is good, but I don’t know that he’s six million good, and that’s what I’ve heard.
"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/
Some details on the M's offer
Found this, which links to a Yomiuri page that claims the Mariners offer has appearance and innings pitched incentives.
"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/
by JY on Nov 24, 2008 5:47 PM PST up reply actions
According to press in Japan
Well, according to press reports in Japan, it sounds like this is a pretty much done deal. Red Sox seem to have told them that Tazawa will start at 2A, so he will probably sign for less than what the M’s offered. Duh.
The Latest
Official-ish: Tazawa to Red Sox
Multiple Japanese media sources (Nikkan Sports, Mainichi, Sponichi) are reporting that Junichi Tazawa is set to sign with the Red Sox as early as December 1. Eneos manager Ohkubo is quoted as saying, "It felt like Tazawa is done negotiating with other teams".
Some details have leaked out on all the deals offered to Tazawa. All were apparently major league deals:
* Boston: 3 years, $3M
* Seattle: 3 years, $3M
* Atlanta: 4 years, $4-5M
* Texas: 4 years, $7M
The reports are varied as to Tazawa's quality.
The ESPN report on Japanese playres for this year was pretty down on him, saying he’s a low-90s pitcher down the stretch. Also said his mechanics are stiff, etc.
Either way, it’ll be interesting to see how it shakes out. Texas is way overboard though. Taz is no David Price.
Favor the Bold
But Price wasn't a FA. That's the difference. If there was no draft, Price would have easily made double and probalby triple what he made from the Rays.
Tools Whore
Sign Bonds!
No, that doesn't matter...
The point is Tazawa is no where near as talented as Price. By that reasoning, you’d expect Tazawa’s price to go down, not creep up to the monopsony price of Price or Prior.
Favor the Bold
But if you have 4 or 5 teams bidding, the price naturally goes up.
Look at Latin American bonuses. As far as I can tell, there is only one guy that given a draft would have been a lock to be a first round pick, but a ton of guys got first round money. Because they’re on the free market, their price was driven up.
Tools Whore
Sign Bonds!
But that's because...
You’re bidding on players like Inoa and Viciendo where information for the players are getting easier to get and the pedigree is high.
In contrast, Japanese pitchers are downright unreliable and difficult to project.
Favor the Bold
The monopsony price of Price is low because it's a monopsony price.
That Tazawa’s not subject to monopsony power means that his price is unrelated to Price’s price.
I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.
What are we arguing about?
It seems Ice’s central point is that Tazawa is not a player with David Price’s talent level or potential, and thus doesn’t warrant that sort of demand.
Never heard his name until the last few weeks.
Daisuke was a legend for a few years before coming over. I don’t see this as being a big deal or anything. Mixed reports on his stuff doesn’t bode much confidence, especially because this resembles the hype of Kei Igawa.
And when the Yankees and Rangers are willing to overpay, then you know they are reaching. Even Boston is probably secretly hoping he goes somewhere else instead of taking their honorable offer.
Plus he's 22 and probably not MLB-ready,
so he’s obviously not going to draw the kind of excitement that Matsuzaka did. Those bidding on Matsuzaka were bidding on a pitcher who was expected to come in on Day One and be one of the top two or three starters on an MLB club.
And we all saw what happened on Day 1.
I am no longer in Spokane, but I think I'll keep the name anyway.
Ok his first home start
I am no longer in Spokane, but I think I'll keep the name anyway.
The mariner's representative in Japan
courted Tazawa by beating him in guitar hero, nailing his sister, and leaving a double decker at his place.
by Bearskin Rugburn on Nov 24, 2008 9:50 PM PST reply actions
then he slashed his tires and left the sister with VD
I know that you're thinking about making a Woodburn joke. Know that I will pummel you if you do.
I miss you, ATQ.
by WoodburnDave on Nov 24, 2008 10:13 PM PST up reply actions
If that's what the M's offered, I'm OK with it.
This kid for some reason completely objective reason is screaming ‘Kei Igawa’ to me.
by Bearskin Rugburn on Nov 25, 2008 6:43 AM PST reply actions
Maybe Tazawa came to his house and screamed "Kei Igawa".
You don’t know.
You can’t know things.
I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.
No objective
I was joking. All I’ve seen of him is a short video, yet my gut tells me he’ll be an average pitcher at his best, likely a bit worse than that. That’s it.
by Bearskin Rugburn on Nov 25, 2008 12:35 PM PST up reply actions
I am stunned at the resistance this is getting
$6M is nothing, this team is rebuilding, and it seems to be the equivalent of signing a mid-low 1st round draft pick.
Everyone here should want him signed.
$3 million is a pretty huge chunk
of the yearly international acquisitions budget. You can get three good 16-year-old kids for that.
Yes, 22 vs 16, maybe ready to help in 2009, already adjusted to professional baseball, but $3 million isn’t nothing.
by davidcameron on Nov 25, 2008 7:41 PM PST up reply actions
Yeah, I didn't think he'd sign with us either
But the ‘meh’ reaction over possibly adding a good prospect was/is baffling.
by Graham MacAree on Nov 25, 2008 10:09 AM PST up reply actions
Agree about the money
Relatively speaking, it’s not that much for a prospect bonus, let alone an MLB contract.
This is a better use of resources
than the money Pittsburgh is giving to the Indian guys who won a game show.
You know what? Fuck you Sports Gods, fuck you.
Maybe.
The Pirates are getting their name out there in the market. As interest develops over there, people who know baseball will know who the Pirates are. The goal in the earliest signings isn’t always to get a productive player, it’s to have the productive players already know who your team is when they come around.
"Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." - Samuel Beckett http://mvn.com/marinersminors/
by JY on Nov 25, 2008 9:49 AM PST up reply actions
I dunno
that has a potentially high return rate with opening a large new market
by Bearskin Rugburn on Nov 25, 2008 12:33 PM PST up reply actions
“Think of them as two Dominican kids. They’re very raw. But I think this has a huge upside.”
GREINKE HO!!!!!
by oc on Nov 25, 2008 8:10 PM PST up reply actions
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