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Ryota Igarashi

NL East Notes: Cora, Ankiel, Igarashi, Marlins

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The big off-field news of the night is that the Marlins are working to acquire manager Ozzie Guillen from the White Sox. On the field, the Phillies picked up their 100th win of the season at the expense of the Braves, whose struggles continued. Here are the latest NL East links…

  • Nationals utility player Alex Cora told Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post that he intends to continue playing in 2012 and, potentially, beyond. Kilgore notes that teams inquired about Cora's interest in managing last offseason and adds that GM Mike Rizzo has interest in the 35-year-old as a future coach.
  • Rick Ankiel, a free agent after the season, told Bill Ladson of MLB.com that he wants to return to D.C. next year since he believes the organization is headed in the right direction. The Nationals entered the day with 78 wins, the most they've had in any season since 2005.
  • Ryota Igarashi wants to pitch for an MLB team in 2012 and the Mets will release him if they don't reach a deal by a certain date, according to ESPNNewYork.com's Adam Rubin (Twitter links). Rubin doubts that the 32-year-old will return to the Mets in 2012.
  • The Marlins interviewed hitting coach Eduardo Perez along with third base Joe Espada and Nationals coach Bo Porter for their managerial opening today, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro (on Twitter). For more on the Marlins, click here.

Mets Sign Capuano And Buchholz, DFA Igarashi

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7:56pm: More from Rubin (via Twitter) as a Mets official says that these additions do not take the Mets out of the running for other free agent starters such as Chris Young and Jeff Francis.  Rubin also tweets that Igarashi, due to his salary, is expected to clear waivers and hook on with the Mets in major league camp as a non-roster invitee.

7:41pm: Capuano's deal has a base of $1.5MM plus incentives while Buchholz will earn a $600K base salary, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter links).  The Brewers all but closed the door on bringing back Capuano when they dealt for Zack Greinke and signed Shaun Marcum as Capuano wants to start.  Meanwhile, Buchholz says that the Mets will use him as a reliever.

6:08pm: The Mets have signed pitchers Chris Capuano and Taylor Buchholz to one-year deals, tweets Mike Puma of the New York Post.  In order to make room for the two, the Mets have designated Ryota Igarashi for assignment, Puma tweets.

Capuano, 32, turned in a 3.95 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 66 innings of work last season for the Brewers.  The left-hander missed the 2008 and '09 major league seasons after undergoing his second Tommy John surgery in May of 2008.  In 2010 he made nine starts with 15 relief appearances. Capuano was never a flamethrower but his 87.4 mph fastball last season was consistent with his career average.

Buchholz, a 29-year-old right-hander, was originally selected in the sixth-round of the 2006 draft by the Phillies.  Since then, he has spent time with the Astros, Rockies, and had a cup of coffee with the Blue Jays to close out 2010.  In 285 career big league innings, Buchholz has a 4.39 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9.  He started a combined 27 games in 2008 and 2009 but has not made a major league start since.

Meanwhile, Igarashi is owed $1.1MM for 2011.  The Japanese right-hander signed a two-year deal with the club in December 2009 but disappointed in 2010, registering a 7.12 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9 in 34 appearances.

Odds & Ends: Nationals, Podsednik, Duchscherer

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Links for Monday…

  • Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that the Nationals still have money left to sign Matt Capps, assuming he wants to go there. Morosi expects Capps to decide on his next team this week.
  • In a separate tweet, Morosi notes that the Tigers are only interested in Scott Podsednik if it's a one-year deal. Detroit has no interest in Rick Ankiel.
  • ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reports that Justin Duchscherer has received contract offers from three unnamed teams, and he expects to decide on his 2010 home within a week.
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that the Royals are interested in free agent outfielder Brian Anderson on a minor league deal.
  • Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle sees Rajai Davis and Ryan Sweeney retaining starting jobs in the wake of the impending Coco Crisp signing.  Slusser suggests a possible reduced role or trade for Scott Hairston.  FanGraphs' Dave Cameron doesn't understand the move, noting that Davis and Sweeney are similar to Crisp.  Crisp's physical will take place tomorrow, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. 
  • Matthew Carruth of Lookout Landing explains that Mariners fans fully understand the dangers of Milton Bradley.  The Seattle Times' Geoff Baker reflects on Carlos Silva's time with the club.
  • Patrick Newman joins FanGraphs with a look at Japanese baseball imports and exports for 2010.  Speaking of which, new Met Ryota Igarashi would like to be Francisco Rodriguez's set-up man.

Mets Sign Ryota Igarashi

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8:10pm: Igarashi's two-year deal with the Mets is worth $3MM, tweets NPB Tracker. Given the cost of late-inning arms this offseason (Brandon Lyon, for example), this seems like a solid, low-risk investment for the Mets.

THURSDAY, 3:41pm: The Mets announced the signing of Igarashi, tweets Ken Davidoff of Newsday.  It's a two-year deal, tweets Ed Price of AOL FanHouse.  ESPN's Keith Law gave a scouting report a few days ago, calling Igarashi a "slightly wild power reliever" with a mid-90s fastball and a splitter he can throw for strikes.

8:41pm: Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post tweets that a Mets source has confirmed that the club has indeed signed Igarashi.

WEDNESDAY, 7:55pm: NPB Tracker (via Twitter) passes on a report from Japanese site Sanspo.com that the Mets have "a basic agreement" to sign reliever Ryota Igarashi.  A follow-up tweet translated a comment from Igarashi's agent Arn Tellem, who says that "the fine points of the contract" are still being worked out.

Odds & Ends: Carroll, Crisp, Cameron, Hermida

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Links for Wednesday…

  • The Tigers signed lefty Brad Thomas out of Korea, and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that they paid $1MM.
  • Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette confirmed our report of the Pirates' interest in Kelly Johnson, explaining that the Pirates view him as a corner outfield option.
  • FanGraphs' Dave Cameron wonders why teams seem to undervalue Cliff Lee.  In a related story, Lee's agent Darek Braunecker believes their position has been mischaracterized. 
  • ESPN's Buster Olney expects Jamey Carroll to choose between two-year offers from the A's and Dodgers, probably today (I mistakenly wrote the Angels earlier).
  • Mentioned first on Twitter: I've heard that Coco Crisp would prefer a one-year deal with the Padres or A's.
  • Boston's Mike Cameron signing was officially announced today.  Michael Silverman and John Tomase of the Boston Herald have details on the two-year, $15.5MM contract.  John Lackey's deal was also announced.
  • WEEI's Alex Speier says the Red Sox told Jeremy Hermida they'd trade him if they re-signed Jason Bay.  Speier wonders if the Cameron signing will prompt a Hermida deal.
  • The Angels' one-year, $6.5MM deal with Hideki Matsui was also announced, as was John Buck's one-year, $2MM deal with Toronto and Ross Gload's two-year, $2.6MM deal with the Phillies.
  • The Royals put out word they've re-signed outfielder Shane Costa to a minor league deal.  Costa, 28, missed almost the entire '09 season with a leg injury.
  • USA Today's Bob Nightengale tweets details on LaTroy Hawkins' two-year, $7.5MM deal with the Brewers.
  • Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker examines the reports about reliever Ryota Igarashi, who might be headed to the Red Sox or Mets.
  • The Mariners signed 19-year-old shortstop Pedro Okuda to a minor league deal, according to a team press release.  Okuda was born and raised in Brazil but attended high school in Japan.

Mets Near Deal With Ryota Igarashi?

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8:42pm: Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post spoke with a Mets official who is still confident the Mets will sign Igarashi. Hubbuch adds that the two sides are "still in talks" and that "nothing is imminent."

4:36pm: Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker points us to a Japanese report that says the Red Sox are the leaders to sign Igarashi. They're apparently willing to offer a two-year deal worth $2-3MM in total.

2:51pm: Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post confirms that the Mets are in serious talks with Igarashi.

2:07pm: The Mets are close to signing Japanese pitcher Ryota Igarashi to a two-year deal, according to David Waldstein of the New York Times. The 30-year-old righty attracted interest from a number of teams. He'll have the chance to set up Francisco Rodriguez, now that J.J. Putz has signed with the White Sox.

ESPN.com's Keith Law says Igarashi is a "slightly wild power reliever" who will throw 93-96 mph. He recovered from Tommy John surgery to take on a regular workload last season.

Odds & Ends: Sheffield, Matsui, Darvish

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Kicking off a fresh Odds & Ends post for Day 3 of the Winter Meetings in Indianapolis…

Odds & Ends: Yanks, Boras, Greinke, Cards

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A few more items for Wednesday evening…

  • Chad Jennings of The Journal News thinks the Yankees ought to at least call Toronto about right-handed ace Roy Halladay.  "I have no idea what the asking price might be," writes Jennings, "but Halladay is better than [John] Lackey and he’ll surely cost fewer prospects than Felix Hernandez."
  • As noted by the Boston Globe's Nick Carfado, MLB executive vice president Rob Manfred said Wednesday the revenue sharing figures thrown out by agent Scott Boras during last week's GM meetings "have no basis in reality" and that Boras is living in a "fantasy land."
  • According to Ryo Shinkawa of NPB Tracker, right-hander Ryota Igarashi and left-hander Hisanori Takahashi filed for international free agency on Wednesday.
  • Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star expects Zack Greinke to move on once his contract with the Royals is through.  "The good news is that the team has Greinke under contract three more years," writes Mellinger.  "The bad news is they have a lot of improving to do in that time."
  • Joe Strauss and Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch took to the radio Wednesday afternoon with a few opinions on the Cardinals' offseason plans.  Both feel Matt Holliday is only an average defender and that the Cardinals could be looking to add starting pitching via trade this offseason.

Giants, Pirates Interested In Igarashi

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The San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates are among the teams interested in Japanese reliever Ryota Igarashi, according to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker.

Giants GM Brian Sabean says that while Igarashi isn't their main priority, he's someone they're "looking into." Meanwhile, Pittsburgh GM Neil Huntington says that acquiring Akinori Iwamura was a factor in their interest in Igarashi: "In acquiring Iwamura, we opened the door to getting Japanese players. We gave up a middle reliever to get Iwamura, so he [Igarashi] is a player we have interest in."

Igarashi is represented by Arn Tellem and the Wasserman Media Group, which Tim profiled earlier today.

Click here for more information on the 30-year-old reliever.

Igarashi To Pursue MLB Next Season

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Patrick Newman at NPB Tracker passes along a report which says that hard-throwing reliever Ryota Igarashi has decided to pursue a Major League contract for 2010. We first learned that Igarashi qualified for international free agency back in June.

The 30-year-old has spent his entire 11-year career with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, posting a 3.25 ERA with 630 strikeouts in 570 IP over 507 appearances. He's hooked on with agent Arn Tellem, who also represents Hideki Matsui. Patrick profiled Igarashi back in May. At 98.75 mph, Igarashi holds the record for the fastest pitch thrown by a Japanese pitcher in a NPB game.

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