Over the weekend, Orioles Manager Dave Trembley made comments to the effect of the team wanting to add an Ace, and another bat.
The part about wanting to add an Ace, has me again thinking about the Japanese superstar Yu Darvish.
Obviously MacPhail has articulated his belief of ‘Grow the arms, buy the bats.’
Going after Darvish, would clearly appear to be the opposite of this. On the other-hand, you could argue with 4/5’s of the O’s 2010 rotation costing nothing, they could certainly afford to pay for an Ace. I would also argue his age makes a vast difference.
If the O’s choose to pursue a pitcher in FA, I would assume it would be Bedard. Obviously he has first-hand knowledge of Baltimore, and would likely be affordable in years, and dollars.
I could see them having interest in Lackey, but I find that much less appealing vs. obtaining Darvish. Lackey figures to be vastly cheaper, but he turns 31 in October, and has thrown 1,400+ innings in the Majors. Darvish turns 23 on August 16th, and has thrown 797 innings.
2009: 13-3, 1.30 era, 145 innings, 90 hits, 31 walks, 131 k’s, 6 CG
2008: 16-4, 1.88 era, 200.2 innings, 136 hits, 44 walks, 208 k’s, 10 CG
2007: 15-5, 1.82 era, 207.2 innings, 123 hits, 49 walks, 210 k’s, 12 CG
I maintain that Darvish is clearly one of the top 5 pitchers in the World. If you obtained him, you would likely have him for the prime of his career.
Darvish can ask to be posted at anytime… but is not a FA until after his 9th season. (this is his 5th season).
I believe Darvish will be posted this offseason. If the O’s are serious about adding an Ace, would you want to see the O’s pay a $60M posting fee (above the $51M spent for Dice-K, due to Darvish being younger) and offer Darvish a contract that he would have to consider? Ie something like 6yrs $60M?
Rules on Posting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posting_system
Process
When a player under contract with a Nippon Professional Baseball team wishes to play in Major League Baseball, he must notify his current team’s management and request that they make him available for posting during the next posting period (November 1–March 1).[4] If the team consents, the player (including any other NPB players wishing to be posted) is presented to the MLB Commissioner. The Commissioner then notifies all MLB teams of the posted player and holds a four-day-long silent auction during which interested MLB teams submit sealed bids (in USD) to the Commissioner’s Office. After the allotted four days have passed, the Commissioner closes the bidding process and notifies the posted player’s NPB team of the highest bid amount but not who the bidding team is.The NPB team then has four days to either accept or reject the nonnegotiable bid amount.
If the bid is rejected, the NPB team retains the player’s rights and the player cannot be posted again until the next off-season. If accepted, however, the bid amount is publicly revealed and the winning Major League team is granted the exclusive rights to negotiate with the player for 30 days.[1] If the player and the MLB team agree on contract terms before the 30-day period has expired, the NPB team receives the bid amount as a transfer fee, and the player is free to play for that team in the MLB in the coming season. If the MLB team cannot come to a contract agreement with the posted player, then no fee is paid, and the player’s rights revert back to his NPB team. A player can request to be posted again in subsequent years, and the process is repeated with no advantage to the club that had won the previous year.
http://baseballmastermind.com/baseba…s-dicek-watch/
Nippon Ham general manager Masao Yamada said he would consider posting Darvish and would not hold him against his will: “We will admit a transfer, if it is allowed by the system. . .We won’t chain our players. Actually, we want to train players like the majors are looking for and [see them] perform well over there. That’s kind of our goal.”
Kansas City Royals manager Trey Hillman, who managed Darvish and the Nippon Ham Fighters before coming to the Royals added:“In my opinion, he’s one of the best in the world at 21. . .He’s got an array of every pitch you’d want to see with the exception of a knuckleball. He throws a four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, movement that is natural and really unfair. He has velocity, 92-95, to go with it. He’s a tremendous competitor, a great worker, a great teammate, handles fame very well.”
Jim Callis of Baseball America says that had Darvish been a prospect in the MLB prior to the 2008 season, he would have ranked Darvish as the #3 prospect, behind Jay Bruce and Evan Longoria, but ahead of Joba Chamberlain and Clay Buchholz.Baseball America reports Darvish throws a fastball that sits in the low 90’s but can reach 95-96 mph. He also throws a curveball, slider, splitter and changeup.
One international scout says:“He has plus stuff, and plus command and control to go with plus makeup. If I had a big game, I would be comfortable with him on the mound. He’s a No. 1 starter for me. Absolutely filthy last year, and he played most of the year at 20. We’ll see what happens as the innings pile on his arm, but he would be 1-1 in the draft. . .We’re not talking a ‘blow them away with a fastball and knee-wobbling stuff’ kind of guy. We’re talking a kid with a projectable body who knows how to pitch and is still developing physically—and is really good right now. He still might end up with jaw-dropping stuff. He’s still very young.”
2010 O’s
Darvish, Matusz, Tillman, Bergesen, Hernandez
Johnson
Uehara
Albers
Ray
Waters
Bass / Sarfate
Berken / Meredith / Mickolio
Roberts 2nd
Jones CF
Markakis RF
Wieters C
Reimold LF
Scott DH
Wigginton 3rd
Snyder 1st
Izturis SS
Andino, Montanez or Pie, Zaun, 25th
*Guthrie traded
* When Arrieta joins the rotation, Hernandez to the bullpen, positioned as closer
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.