Japanese starting pitchers Yusei Kikuchi and Tomoyuki Sugano have been garnering attention from major league scouts, according to Jason Coskrey of the Japan Times. Several teams sent representatives to see the left-handed Kikuchi (Seibu Lions) and the right-handed Sugano (Yomiuri Giants) square off last Friday. The belief is that the 26-year-old Kikuchi will be the first of the pair to immigrate to the majors, perhaps as early as the upcoming offseason, per Coskrey. Notably, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reported in March that Kikuchi could end up with a contract in the $100MM vicinity if he does head to North America. Kikuchi would be posted, whereas Sugano may have to wait until he becomes an international free agent in 2021 because Yomiuri doesn’t post players, Coskrey explains. By then, he’ll be 32.
Here’s more from around the game:
- In the event the Red Sox upgrade their offense this summer, it will probably come at center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr.’s expense, Chad Jennings of The Athletic writes (subscription required). For the most part, Boston’s offense is well positioned, Jennings observes, but Bradley hasn’t helped matters with a .184/.280/.301 line in 236 plate appearances. Barring a turnaround, then, he may be head to the bench or even another team via trade. Speculatively, the Red Sox could seek a solid-hitting corner outfielder on the market and have left fielder Andrew Benintendi take over for JBJ in center.
- The Rangers’ Jurickson Profar has easily outperformed teammate Rougned Odor this year. Despite that, the Rangers’ second base job will continue to belong to Odor, in part because of his contract, according to Jeff Wilson of the Star-Telegram. Odor still has four and a half years remaining on the six-year, $49.5MM guarantee he landed prior to 2017, and because of that, it seems Texas would rather have him try to figure things out as its starting second baseman than on its bench or in the minors. That’s not to suggest Odor will keep Profar off the diamond, though, as manager Jeff Banister said that the latter could see action five times a week at second, third and short. Profar may even emerge as the Rangers’ full-time shortstop in 2019 if Elvis Andrus opts out of his contract after this season and leaves as a free agent, Wilson points out.
- Both Diamondbacks outfielder Steven Souza Jr. and right-hander Shelby Miller are progressing in their injury recoveries, according to Richard Morin of AZCentral.com. Souza, out since May 22 with a strained right pectoral, is close to embarking on a rehab assignment. And Miller, who’s working back from May 2017 Tommy John surgery, looked great in his fourth rehab appearance Saturday. Pitching at the Single-A level, Miller threw 81 pitches and struck out 10 (with just three hits allowed and no walks) over 6 1/3 innings. He also saw his fastball top out at 95 mph. It’s not yet clear whether Miller will make another rehab appearance, nor is it known if he’ll work as a starter or in relief upon his return to the majors, manager Torey Lovullo suggested. Regardless, the D-backs are “very encouraged” by his progress, Lovullo said.
Odor hasn’t been the same ever since his ‘fight’ with Joey Bats. He needs to be sent down to the minors until the trade deadline.
Are you suggesting he felt so bad for punching Bautista that he forgot how to hit? Lol
He couldn’t hit to begin with. He’s a bad baseball player. Has he ever had an OBP above .300 ?
Lmao
Is that why Odor is a bad smell? He’s comfortable?
He swings through everything! Maybe he needs glasses?
Yusei Kikuchi just celebrated his 27th birthday.
Happy birthday to him.
I hope he had a lovely birthday
The Rangers need to trade Profar now since he is finally healthy. His stock will never be higher. Elvis is not going to opt-out. Who’s going to give him more than he is making after missing half the year with injury?
Plus Kiner-Falefa has proven to be a more stable utility player than Profar.
I agree with everything you said. However, I doubt Texas will deal Profar. Just don’t see it happening.
Your argument for trading Profar is that one of the worst teams in baseball has better options for bench players,
So where exactly do you suggest they trade him to? Japan, for a few hundred thousand bucks?
Poor pitching and injuries have made Texas one of the worst teams in baseball. Gallo (including him even though he DHs a lot), Odor, Andrus, and Beltre make for an offensively potent infield. Just because the team is bad and Profar doesn’t have a clear role doesn’t mean that he won’t hold appeal.
Wait… since when does Gallo DH? I have honestly never seen him DH.
Profar is close to leading the team in RBI’s. He’s a much better player than Kiner-Falefa. Don’t be moronic
I doubt Sugano has any interest in the majors. Only team he’s interested in is the one he’s on.
He actually took a year off, after college, because he got drafted by another team, and didn’t want to play for them.
And he has elbow ligament damage, so it would be extra frustrating to try and compete in a league where they’re babying pitchers. Every time he shakes his elbow, he’d get shut down for two months.
Might the RSox make a move for Adam Jones, Trumbo, Machado or Bryce Harper prior to the deadline?
Personally I like Jones of those bats in the top or bottom of the order and it would not cost as much as Manny and Harper.
The Sox don’t have much other than 3 very decent Min. L. starters along with a SS and 3 B @ A + Salem.
Just keep JBJ and enjoy his D. I was one who previously wanted him gone but he can easily preserve a game with his glove. Also, the ball is too juiced for his bat to stay this quiet.
JBJ is hitting to a .241 Babip. Watching almost every Red Sox game and he seems to barrel up a lot of balls that go right at someone. He has been extremely unlucky this year offensively. His strikeout percentage of nearly 27% is a little higher then it has been the last few years but he should be hitting at a higher clip probably in the .230 to .250 range which is acceptable for someone with his defense when his babip normalizes.
I do agree with this. I watch every game he is the unluckiest guy on the team…good news if the baseball god’s flip it as we know they should!
Thanks for the couch assessment & speculation on JBJ and The BoSox…click bait anybody…get off the couch and actually gather some Intel…sad showing for a “sports reporter”… you’re like the CNN of baseball rumors.
I remember when JBJ debuted, it was opening night vs. the Yankees on ESPN, and they were treating it like Willie Mays Jr. was ascending to MLB.
JBJ on defense makes Willie May’s look bad… he’s a good hitting coach away from being a complete player. The “catch” so to speak was frankly something 80% of decent athletes who played baseball could do on an everyday basis. So please… it’s ok to show as it was in a big situation but it was frankly nothing special. Go see the Jim Edminds catch if you want to see something that deserves that type of touting. That said Willie May’s Eclipses JBJ in every way on the other side of the ball so seeing their names in the same sentences or typing it is ridiculous…and I’m going to stop tight now.
After Tanaka and DiceK, teams really should stay away from Japanese pitchers unless they can get no more than a 2 year contract. The ends of those 2 contracts were and are going to be horrific.
BoSox should trade Bradley for prospect(s).
Put Pomeranz on the 60 day disable list (remove him from luxury tax calculation).
Now there’s enough wiggle room to bring up Rusney Castillo’s bat.
Putting Pom on the 60 day doesn’t remove him from the “ Luxury Tax Calculation” if this was the case teams would be placing all there bad contracts on 60 DL.
Thanks for that info. I knew it seemed too good to be true !
Who are these magical difference makers the Sox are getting at the deadline? 2016 seems more an exception than a rule for JBJ, BABIP, bad luck or not the guy is a career .314 OBP and .710 OPS. He’s a glorified defensive specialist and an 11 WAR player in nearly 2,000 AB (and 0,00 in 2018) including his defense and he’s 28-years-old so they would be selling low.
That’s not a center piece for anything substantial as evidenced by the fact the White Sox refused to give up Abreu for the same nonsense scenario where JBJ is anything but a second or third piece in a deal for a good player.
So with that said, the top two Sox prospects are both out for the year, they have no more payroll flexibility left, they have nothing they will be willing to move at the MLB level – so where is this magical package coming from? The best the Sox can hope to get with their assets is an 8th inning guy.
Vmmercan – I agree that the Red Sox won’t go get someone at the deadline except maybe a bullpen piece but it’s not because they don’t have anything to trade it’s because Dombrowski takes too long to figure things out. A year ago he could have gotten JD or Verlander at somewhat depressed prices compared to now and he choked. After further investigation he realized JD was worth it and almost lost him in the off season negotiations. Thanks to the Yanks always going for the name and not the ability we did land JD not Stanton!! It’s great when your rival’s front office sucks. There are plenty of things the Red Sox COULD DO before the deadline but they won’t. The options were far more obvious last year and DD couldn’t pull the trigger. Nothing suggests that he will this year.
And for the financial wizards that keep saying they can’t spend money please check the timing of the penalties for being over the cap. They could add now and clear salary in the off season and be in decent shape by next year. It’s all about timing. My guess is that DeGrom signs for less than Price per year. Yes, that makes no sense considering their skills but the timing suggests it could happen. There are other teams in baseball that have deep pockets and poor management so it’s possible to trade a Price in the off season without eating any of the contract. Just because you wouldn’t do it doesn’t make it not feasible. Heck, Chicago probably thinks Darvish needs a new home, San Francisco needs pitching, the Angels need pitching, the Dodgers need healthy pitchers. All deep pocket teams. A good GM could figure out how to move the guys not worth their price.
Changing subjects to JBJ…. If JBJ makes a catch that saves a run once a week is his opportunity cost to the Red Sox more or less than having a guy who does it half as often but hits .100 points higher? I give JBJ credit for being a top defensive outfielder and every time he goes to bat I see Willie Mays Hays. Benintendi, Betts and Martinez will not be as good but if the new guy in the line-up hits nearly 100 points higher and can field then I’ll take him over JBJ. Especially if he can play 3B!! Watching JD in the OF and Devers at 3B, I’ll take JD every time!! Too many balls hit to 3B to have a sub=par performer there.
Send the Mets Devers, EROD, JBJ, Chavis, Groome and Casis for DeGrom!! If that’s not enough find more guys to throw in. Sale, DeGrom, Price, Porcello and Wright will win the Division and give us a great shot at going back to the WS.
Dude are you a Red Sox fan are you seriously saying to trade Devers, Erod, JBJ, Chavis, Groome, and Casis for DeGrom? Are you off your meds? Once again I’m really glad you are not the GM for the Red Sox. You do realize that Erod, while not DeGrom, is a budding ace who looks better and better every outing. I agree that if that offer was made to the Mets they would accept it but MLB would step in and determine if DD was in his right mental state when he made such a poor trade.
Another flaw in your logic I could be wrong but you can’t trade Casis until after the World Series I believe.
Bruin012 – I get it you are a Red Sox fan but don’t be dilusional, try to look objectively at our players. Devers has been all hype, he cost us another game last night with his inability to field simple ground balls, he homered but his average is terrible, he didn’t play much above AA and he needed to and you can’t keep saying he is improving because making one good play and one bad play in a game should put you in the minors. JBJ is great defensively and an offensive liability and everyone knows that. Chavis is a solid 3B but isn’t in the mix for playing at the MLB level because he’s got flaws like Devers. Groome hasn’t proven anything and Casis can be the player to be named later if there is a rule about trading him before the end of the season. This suggestion is a quantity for quality trade. The Mets need quantity but if I were the Mets I wouldn’t do this trade. You always want the best player in the trade and that’s DeGrom by a LONG SHOT!! Not even close to EROD.
Do you remember a couple of years ago we traded a can’t miss SP for Pomerantz and how did he turn out? Yep, so far he has missed!! The Red Sox want to win now not hope to win someday. You’ve got to take off your Red Sox hat when you think about trades. Both sides need to benefit. The Red Sox would get a top 5 SP comparable to Sale, the Mets would get potential out of EROD and DEVERS, an outside chance at a starter with Chavis, a late inning defensive centerfielder who can’t hit and possibly a decent young SP if he can stay healthy and our first round pick. It fills up their farm system with guys better than what they have now and it rids the Red Sox of players that shouldn’t be starters because they aren’t as good as the other starters. If we were rebuilding right now guys like Devers could be given time to see if he can get better but good teams have their potential stars do it in the minors first. He was over-rated in the minors because he was having ONE hot season. Those types of mistakes happen all the time. The Yankees had a star player named Rutherford who had ONE hot season. The next year he didn’t and he was sent packing to Chicago. Devers had a hot year. Now he’s having a bad year. The Red Sox shouldn’t be starting hitters batting under .250 unless they are exceptional at something else. He’s not. He’s a below average fielder, he isn’t fast, his arm is inconsistent throwing across the infield. Too many have tasted the cool aid on this guy. Look at his numbers. That’s what he is this year, a .230 hitter, bad defender with an inconsistent arm. That sounds like a AAA or AA player to me. We have a huge hole and Sale more than anybody has been paying for his lack of skills.
By the way, If we could throw Cora in the deal I’d do it in a heartbeat.
All the trades in the world won’t fix a broken manager. Cora cost us another game tonight and doesn’t seem to be trying to win. Someone needs to tell him that the MLB doesn’t give out participation trophies so playing guys like Swihart, Johnson and others with minor league talent won’t win games. Why not start the 8th with Kelly? Don Zimmer could have figured that one out and he was clueless as a manager.
If Devers fields his position the first rally never happens. It’s not ok in the MLB to have a 3B that can’t charge a ball and throw guys out regularly. I know our announcers rave when he gets one then they don’t say much when he misses the next two. We need a 3B and we need a coach. Step out of your Red Sox gear and look objectively. We have an excellent team with only a few holes. We need to fill those holes before we are so far behind we are guaranteed a 1 game playoff.
Every game I watch I’m waiting for Cora to either screw up the line-up by batting Bogaerts 3rd so Martinez can lead off the inning multiple times or rest guys that should be playing. If he starts the best 8 players then I wait for his first bonehead pitching change. I’m sure someone must be providing him with stats on how good and how bad his relievers are. Shouldn’t he use those stats to give us the best possible chance? He is totally over his head and based on his performance thus far, he should have spent a year or two in the minors with Devers!!
I’m trying to stay optimistic about our chances but it’s hard to when the same mistakes keep being repeated. 1 out of 10 mis-hit balls down third will be fielded and thrown accurately. At least 2 of the 10 will be caught and thrown away. We have seen this yet we keep sending Devers out to play 3B. For the last two weeks we’ve not used our standard 7th and 8th inning relief guys, we’ve been experimenting and losing games because of it. Good coaches and good systems don’t allow that to happen.
Last comment on my trade suggestion… if DeGrom doesn’t go to us but is traded like Verlander last year, would it surprise you if he landed on a team we might have to play in the playoffs? What if he goes to Seattle, Houston, the Yankees or Cleveland and Cora gets us to finish in the first wild card slot, wouldn’t it drive you crazy to know we could have had him like Verlander last year? It would me!!
You know what KD I do admire your passion. One more thing Devers didn’t cause the first two runs to score in that game. It would of taken an exceptional play to stop Lamares hit. The reason for the two runs was all on Sale for hitting Joe Mauer. Maybe Chapman from Oakland could of made a play on Lamarres hit but I doubt it he is fast even if you get to the ball you aren’t throwing him out there.
There isn’t a guy I enjoy see struggling more than stinky
JBJ – saves more runs with his glove than he creates with his bat; the offset is an intangible asset. However when he gets hot he’ll hit .400 for a month and at some point we will need it from him. The team offense is potent as is, no need to move him, he fits well on this team.
bcap – the team offense has five star players in Betts, Martinez, Benintendi, Moreland and Bogaerts. It has a .230 hitter at 3B, no Peddy, two catchers that don’t hit and Bradley batting under .200 most of the time. My definition of a potent line-up is 9 hitters that are hitting over .250 with at least 4 star players. The top end of our line-up qualifies as potent, 3B, C, CF and 2B are not. I’m not sure what a player fitting well on a team means, it could mean he’s got good chemistry, he bats in the right place (last) or many other things. To me 5 stars and 4 below average players don’t suggest potent or a good fit but maybe I’m being too hard on them. Have you looked at the other elite teams in the league? The Astros and Yankees don’t have as big a gap between their top and bottom players. Seattle has closed their gap with Span filling in for Cano. The Indians might be similar to us but wouldn’t it be nice if we compared better to Houston and New York? We are fortunate to have better starting pitchers than NY but without any changes it’s hard to see how we would beat the Astros, especially if Cora is content to finish in the first wildcard spot.
Thanks your reply and solid points. Your view of a potent lineup is a great benchmark I never thought of with the 250+ ba. overall the team stacks up in the top 3 offensive categories with yes Houston leading the way. As a team overall they are among the elite in terms of 2018.
Unbalanced lineup … When Peddy came back, I was thinking he would shorten the gap and balance the 7-9 part of the lineup. Also the swihart experiement is failing so we do have a hole. Team chemistry is critical and we likely have the best defensive outfield in the game, I think JBJ the right fit and could get hit anytime.
Unless you could get Machado or Jones from Baltimore (both possible but even more so doubtful), I would stick with JBJ and perhaps get a Lowie/Gannett at 2b should peddy not come back.
The solution may be adding consistency and depth to bridge the gap instead of a big name. Perhaps to your point, any consistent 7-9 hitter with a 250 avg would do.