Baseball Guru
01-10-2002, 09:44 AM
By Jim Street
MLB.com
The possibility of a Major League team having two Japan-born pitchers in its starting rotation emerged Wednesday when the Los Angeles Dodgers were awarded exclusive negotiating rights to left-hander Kazuhisa Ishii.
"We have every intention of signing him," Dodgers General Manager Dan Evans said. "I talked to his agent (Joe Urbon) and this is where Ishii wanted to be. We felt very comfortable making the bid because we know him very well."
The Yakult Swallows, who expected to lose Ishii to free agency following the 2002 season -- Japan players become free agents after 10 seasons -- accepted the winning bid of about $11.2 million submitted by the Dodgers, who have until Feb. 8 to sign Ishii.
Four other MLB teams -- the New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Anaheim Angels and Seattle Mariners -- submitted sealed bids on Monday.
The Swallows "posted" Ishii with the MLB Commissioner's Office last Wednesday, making the pitcher available to all MLB teams. The Yakult team was informed Tuesday morning of the top bid and it was accepted on Wednesday.
"Ishii is excited," Urbon said. "This is certainly one of the two teams he wanted to play for."
The other team apparently was the Mariners, who spent $13.125 million last year to get the negotiating rights to outfielder Ichiro Suzuki and signed him to a three-year, $14 million contract. Ichiro went on to become the American League Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year.
Signing Ishii will give the Dodgers two potential starters who were born in Japan. Los Angeles signed right-hander Hideo Nomo two months ago.
Ishii compiled a 79-46 regular-season record for the Swallows and pitched a one-hit shutout in the opening game of the Japan World Series this past season. The 28-year-old was 12-6 with a 3.79 ERA and 173 strikeouts in 175 innings during the regular season.
"He has performed under a lot of pressure and that means a lot to us," Evans said. "He's clearly a winner, a guy who has had a lot of success in Japan."
Ishii has pitched in the Japan World Series five times in the past six seasons.
"I saw the young man pitch twice last season and he will be a great help to this ballclub," said Tommy Lasorda, the team's senior vice president. "The ability is there and he has a great attitude."
"This guy is probably one of the best lefties I've ever faced," said Dodgers third baseman Dave Hansen, who faced ishii when Hanson played for the Hanshin Tigers in 1998. "He throws in the mid-90s with good breaking stuff. He is an American-style pitcher who will do well here."
Said Dodgers Manager Jim Tracy, "He comes to us with high billing. He is a very talented guy and still very young at 28, and that is something else that was very interesting to us. The plan we have here is to create some stability and being good for several years to come. We're not looking for a quick fix."
The Dodgers will report to Spring Training next month with at least six potential starters in Kevin Brown, Andy Ashby and Eric Gagne, along with newcomers Nomo, Ishii and Omar Daal. Darren Dreifort will not be ready to pitch again until August.
Jim Street is a reporter for MLB.com. Ben Platt, site manager for dodgers.com, contributed to this report
MLB.com
The possibility of a Major League team having two Japan-born pitchers in its starting rotation emerged Wednesday when the Los Angeles Dodgers were awarded exclusive negotiating rights to left-hander Kazuhisa Ishii.
"We have every intention of signing him," Dodgers General Manager Dan Evans said. "I talked to his agent (Joe Urbon) and this is where Ishii wanted to be. We felt very comfortable making the bid because we know him very well."
The Yakult Swallows, who expected to lose Ishii to free agency following the 2002 season -- Japan players become free agents after 10 seasons -- accepted the winning bid of about $11.2 million submitted by the Dodgers, who have until Feb. 8 to sign Ishii.
Four other MLB teams -- the New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Anaheim Angels and Seattle Mariners -- submitted sealed bids on Monday.
The Swallows "posted" Ishii with the MLB Commissioner's Office last Wednesday, making the pitcher available to all MLB teams. The Yakult team was informed Tuesday morning of the top bid and it was accepted on Wednesday.
"Ishii is excited," Urbon said. "This is certainly one of the two teams he wanted to play for."
The other team apparently was the Mariners, who spent $13.125 million last year to get the negotiating rights to outfielder Ichiro Suzuki and signed him to a three-year, $14 million contract. Ichiro went on to become the American League Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year.
Signing Ishii will give the Dodgers two potential starters who were born in Japan. Los Angeles signed right-hander Hideo Nomo two months ago.
Ishii compiled a 79-46 regular-season record for the Swallows and pitched a one-hit shutout in the opening game of the Japan World Series this past season. The 28-year-old was 12-6 with a 3.79 ERA and 173 strikeouts in 175 innings during the regular season.
"He has performed under a lot of pressure and that means a lot to us," Evans said. "He's clearly a winner, a guy who has had a lot of success in Japan."
Ishii has pitched in the Japan World Series five times in the past six seasons.
"I saw the young man pitch twice last season and he will be a great help to this ballclub," said Tommy Lasorda, the team's senior vice president. "The ability is there and he has a great attitude."
"This guy is probably one of the best lefties I've ever faced," said Dodgers third baseman Dave Hansen, who faced ishii when Hanson played for the Hanshin Tigers in 1998. "He throws in the mid-90s with good breaking stuff. He is an American-style pitcher who will do well here."
Said Dodgers Manager Jim Tracy, "He comes to us with high billing. He is a very talented guy and still very young at 28, and that is something else that was very interesting to us. The plan we have here is to create some stability and being good for several years to come. We're not looking for a quick fix."
The Dodgers will report to Spring Training next month with at least six potential starters in Kevin Brown, Andy Ashby and Eric Gagne, along with newcomers Nomo, Ishii and Omar Daal. Darren Dreifort will not be ready to pitch again until August.
Jim Street is a reporter for MLB.com. Ben Platt, site manager for dodgers.com, contributed to this report