Report: Tazawa Nears Decision

by gondeee on Nov 24, 2008 3:50 PM EST in Free Agents Comment 7 comments

Highly regarded amateur pitcher Junichi Tazawa received a lucrative offer from the Texas Rangers on Monday and is expected to decide on his future shortly, his manager said.

"Now that these offers are on the table, a conclusion will be reached in three or four days," Hideaki Okubo, manager of Tazawa's Nippon Oil team, said after talks with the Rangers, which followed recent meetings with the Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners. [...]

According to sources close to Tazawa, the Red Sox appear to be the front-runners in the race for his services, and Okubo hinted that Tazawa is hoping to choose his destination as soon as possible.

"It seems to me that Tazawa does not necessarily need to meet any further teams," Okubo said.

It's a good thing we got in there early with our offer and expressed our interest and seriousness from the get-go. Everyone is naturally falling all over themselves after the Red Sox got into the action, and with two other established Japanese pitchers on their team, and a history of spending big on international talent, they should probably be considered the favorites.

I'm going to be honest with Junichi for a moment... the Boston Red Sox as a destination, yawn, they already have their Japanese stars -- ditto for the Seattle Mariners... yawn, it's been done. The Texas Rangers; not a good history with regards to free agents pitching signings, you should stay away. And then the Atlanta Braves, a team on the verge of a new era of talent which you can be a part of, and in an area of the country that hasn't had a big-name foreign player -- you could be the first!

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http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hotstove08/news/story?id=3717007&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines

"At 22, Tazawa is unlikely to throw much harder than he does now; his fastball barely tops 90 mph when he is rested, and he struggled to hit 88 mph at the end of last season … In Class A or Double-A, Tazawa likely will get hit harder and harder as the season wears on. "

Getting less and less excited about him. Why not sign some guys from India like the PIrates?

by TradeAndruw on Nov 24, 2008 4:03 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

He will sign with the BoSox

I think they have the money and the familiarity with other guys from Japan.

by Fischerking on Nov 24, 2008 4:17 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Braves should suggest

Marketing Incentives once he becomes everyday player. Hint at the shadow of current Bo Sox Japanese Players. Paint the picture of him being the renegade again if he signs with Atlanta. Explain how it will open doors for numerous teams to start getting involved with the youth to come from Japan. Could lead to smaller market teams getting more and more involved with youth from Japan. Spin it.

by Charmin519 on Nov 24, 2008 4:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

so....

also, according to the story on MLB.com:

"Okubo said the Rangers have made the largest offer to Tazawa. "

Doesn’t he qualify for strong-arm tactics from the player’s union to take the most money? I know he isn’t in the union yet, but he will be.

by sddbaker on Nov 24, 2008 4:49 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I’m with TradeAndruw here. I like the Braves’ aggressiveness, but I hope Wren doesn’t turn this into a bidding war. Up to now, there’s been very little in the way of “real” scouting reports, and now that the real ones are coming out, they aren’t favorable. I’m beginning to think I’d rather forget Tazawa and earmark his $6 million for our first-round pick next June. Unless this money is coming from a get-Tazawa-or-lose-it fund, I think we may be able to find better uses for it.

Will be interesting to see how this plays out though, and I won’t be disappointed if the Braves sign him. Won’t be disappointed if they miss either, though.

by tgthree on Nov 24, 2008 6:23 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Junichi Tazawa is expected to announce early next week that he will sign with the Red Sox. He turned down offers from the Rangers, Mariners and Braves.

you can all start talking about how you really didn’t want him, and how this is good for the organization now.

Following the Braves...one long hard drink at a time.

by bigjoe on Nov 29, 2008 11:01 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, that’s pretty disappointing. I think more than anything the big factor here is that Craig Shipley, Boston’s head of international scouting, is just really good at his job. The Red Sox are a huge factor in Asia and he’s a big part of the reason. The guy is smart and very passionate about his job.
This one sucks, cause it seemed like a pickup that really could have helped the Braves in the future. But, the rich get richer.

by cbwilk on Nov 30, 2008 12:33 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs