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Orioles sign Wada to $8.15 million, 2-year contract

Sports Dec. 15, 2011 - 12:30PM JST ( 21 )

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21 Comments

1

smithinjapanDec. 15, 2011 - 03:41PM JST

Congrats to Wada. I hope he does the team well.
2

yaguraDec. 15, 2011 - 04:10PM JST

$8.15 mil for two years seems like a good risk for the Orioles to take. If Wada can stay healthy and get 8-10 wins per year, this will turn out to be a steal of a deal for the Orioles.
1

DotobockDec. 15, 2011 - 09:49PM JST

$4 mill a year is about what he was making in Fukuoka this year. He was earning 330 mill yen. I guess a bit less. So this is a good deal for Wada. The teams in Majors got lots of cash.
-4

sfjp330Dec. 16, 2011 - 04:18AM JST

Wada is another Kawakami that pitched for Atlanta. Orioles are making a big mistake. If Orioles is serious about getting quality pitcher, they should've gone after Gio Gonzalez of the A's, Edward Jackson or Jake Westbrook of the Cardinals.
-3

some14someDec. 16, 2011 - 06:33AM JST

Fair Deal @Y76/$
1

ctyluDec. 16, 2011 - 06:59AM JST

Wada is another Kawakami that pitched for Atlanta. Orioles are making a big mistake. If Orioles is serious about getting quality pitcher, they should've gone after Gio Gonzalez of the A's, Edward Jackson or Jake Westbrook of the Cardinals.

how is it a big mistake. its 2yrs 8mil. if he struggles as a starter, he'll be the long relief guy or the loogy in the pen. he looks like another hisanori takahashi. the orioles are a last place team and looks like will stay that way for a while. why would they give up top prospects from their already poor farm system to get gonzalez, any type of prospect for a pitcher with limited upside in westbrook or a big contract for a journeyman like jackson. they know they have no chance of contending, why not take a flyer on wada and see what happens
-4

sfjp330Dec. 16, 2011 - 08:10AM JST

ctyluDec. 16, 2011 - 06:59AM JST. how is it a big mistake. its 2yrs 8mil. if he struggles as a starter, he'll be the long relief guy or the loogy in the pen. he looks like another hisanori takahashi. the orioles are a last place team and looks like will stay that way for a while.

Put it this way: Although in hindsight this now seems incredible, in 2004 the New York Mets thought so much of shortstop Kazuo Matsui that they actually made room for him by bumping Jose Reyes to second base. Another All-Star shortstop in Japan, Nakajima, drew a modest high-bid of $2 million from a team, the Yankees, that evidently projects him to be a reserve. Nakajima had about the same stats in Japan as Kazuo Matsui. Clear evidence that the love affair with Japan is over. Position players in the footsteps of Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui? Very little encouragement: None have hit higher than .268 (infielder Tadahito Iguchi and catcher Kenji Johjima). Very little power: Kosuke Fukudome hit 101 home runs in his last four seasons in Japan before getting a four-year, $48 million deal with the Cubs, and has totaled 42 homers in four Major League seasons.

There used to be a feeling that if a guy was a superstar in Japan, he'll be a superstar here. I don't think you can say that anymore. It's become more a case of 'buyer beware.' We've seen the track record, and it hasn't been great. The depth of the talent on big-league teams is the biggest hurdle; it is a game without letup. You try to evaluate talent in Japan, but they don't face the same caliber of pitching night in and night out. Japanese baseball is not a very aggressive game. You seldom see brushback pitches, or pitchers retaliating for hit batsmen, or basepath collisions. Japanese infielders seem intimidated by the tougher American game. [Kaz] Matsui seemed afraid of the inside fastball and the spikes-high slides of baserunners trying to break up the double play. Nishioka didn't know how to handle the double play. Darvish extremely talented, but in terms of how it transitions and everything else like that, it's hard to say. I wouldn't even want to speculate.
1

ctyluDec. 16, 2011 - 08:30AM JST

the difference being that no one expects wada to be a superstar nor is he being paid like one. like someone said in another thread, even the japanese pitchers that fail sometimes have success in their first season before hitters figure them out. get a mediocre season out of him, throw him the pen, then cut him if things get ugly. not a big deal.
-2

sfjp330Dec. 16, 2011 - 08:41AM JST

ctyluDec. 16, 2011 - 06:59AM JST. why would they give up top prospects from their already poor farm system to get gonzalez,

If Orioles want to win, you give up a little to get a quality young proven starter like Gonzalez, who only made $420K in 2011. He will earn about the same amount or less than Wada in the arbritration. Wada is not worth $4million a year. I guess you rather lose with Wada.
-2

sfjp330Dec. 16, 2011 - 08:57AM JST

ctyluDec. 16, 2011 - 08:30AM JST. the difference being that no one expects wada to be a superstar nor is he being paid like one.

Why not? What is the difference between the hype that Darvish gets compared to accomplishment of Wada? He won 33 games in the last two years. Last year Wada was the MVP, the Most Valuable Player, of the Japanese baseball league in 2010, which is an extraordinary accomplishment. When he started his career, he was the Rookie of the Year and he was also a four-time All-Star. If Japan baseball is rated "AAAA" by most of you, then, this is more of a lateral transition, Wada should perform like he did in Japan.
1

ctyluDec. 16, 2011 - 08:59AM JST

If Orioles want to win, you give up a little to get a quality young proven starter like Gonzalez, who only made $420K in 2011. He will earn about the same amount or less than Wada in the arbritration. Wada is not worth $4million a year. I guess you rather lose with Wada.

the orioles arent thinking win now. they have build from within THEN compliment with proven players. they are years away from contending. getting gonzalez does not nothing for them but take away prospects they should be developing for the future. and what happens when it comes to giving gonzalez a long term deal. they cant do that. what they need now are stop gaps. year to year players.
1

yaguraDec. 16, 2011 - 11:22AM JST

sfjp330DEC. 16, 2011 - 04:18AM JST Wada is another Kawakami that pitched for Atlanta. Orioles are making a big mistake. If Orioles is serious about getting quality pitcher, they should've gone after Gio Gonzalez of the A's, Edward Jackson or Jake Westbrook of the Cardinals.

Jake Westbrook is 34 and although he seems to have recovered from the Tommy John surgery he underwent a few years ago, he really has never been much more than a .500 pitcher. In addition, his last contract with the Cardinals (2010) pays him $8 plus mil per season for two years, plus an option for a third year. He has a no-trade clause as well, which means that he's probably not going to agree to any trade (especially to team that's rebuilding like the Orioles) that will eventually result in much less money then he's getting now.

I think by Edward Jackson you perhaps mean Edwin Jackson(?). He's actually a year younger than Wada but he too has been not more than a .500 pitcher throughout his career. He's played for 7 different teams in 9 seasons. He's a free agent so no trade needs to be worked out but he's probably looking for quite a bit more than $4 mil a year for 2 years, especially since he made $8.75 mil last year with the Cardinals.

Gio Gonzalez probably has the biggest upside out of the three you mentioned. He's still young and still has lots of room for improvement. But, I think he's still under contract with the A's and they might not be too eager to give him up. Plus even if a trade could be worked out with the Orioles, I'd imagine that he tried to use whatever leverage he could muster to get his contract renegotiated and would probably want a lot more that $8.15 mil for two years.

So for the money they're gonna pay Wada, it still seems to me that the Orioles got a good deal. We'll just have to wait to see if he turns out to be another Kawakami. But, Kawakami was after all 33 when he signed with the Braves (3 years for $20 plus mil) and a perhaps bit more worn out than the current version of Wada.

sfjp330DEC. 16, 2011 - 08:10AM JST Position players in the footsteps of Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui? Very little encouragement: None have hit higher than .268 (infielder Tadahito Iguchi and catcher Kenji Johjima).

Iguchi may not have had that great of a batting average but he did win a World Series ring (in 2005). Also, don't forget So Taguchi because he won two rings (2006, 2008). That's what counts, right? :b
1

DotobockDec. 16, 2011 - 11:34AM JST

Wada does not rely on his fast balls as much as Kawakami did. Wada never had a great fast ball to begin with, it was his breaking pitches and placement which brought him wins. He should be all right. He is more like, as someone else mentioned Takahashi. But younger. Uehara has made the transition. He is doing all right. He was over the hill dropped to relief in Japan then went to the States and carried on in the bull pen. Its a good thing for Wada to have other Japanese on his team. I never thought Wada to be a spectacular pitcher. Nothing like Darvish or Tanaka.But a pitcher with good technique and placement. Be interesting to see how his style translates.
0

Hide SuzukiDec. 16, 2011 - 01:33PM JST

@sfjp330 "What is the difference between the hype that Darvish gets compared to accomplishment of Wada?" If you have to ask that question, then you are clueless. Darvish is younger, throw faster. Your ability to put all the Japanese players in one caregory is just ridiculous.
Should we put all the white players in one caregory then ? Do you think white players are all great or do they all suck ? Using your logic, all the white players are either great or they all suck, right ? There is no individuality
-2

GurukunDec. 16, 2011 - 02:06PM JST

"Wada" waste of money.
1

DotobockDec. 16, 2011 - 03:24PM JST

Takahashi actually improved in the States the first year. He was mediocre at his best in Japan and in the States he was decent. Their styles are similar but in Japan, Wada has been much better out of the two.
0

lostrune2Dec. 16, 2011 - 08:31PM JST

Hope he doesn't turn out like another Kei Igawa.............
1

DotobockDec. 16, 2011 - 11:35PM JST

Igawa was a different type of pitcher. Both him and Kawakami relied more on their fast balls just like Irabu. But their velocity was not that great in USA where more pitchers can throw heat than in Japan but all three of them I think had peaked before going to the States. Where as Wada is a different type of pitcher. He throws sliders against right handers and it hits the outside corners. He is not the type of pitcher trying to blow you away rather make you hit ground balls.

On Sporto the other day there was an interesting segment of the best breaking balls in Japan voted by other baseball players. The best breaking pitch in Japan this season was Darvish's slider. I forget how many votes it got but it got the most votes, the second best breaking pitch was Tanaka's split and third best was Tanaka's slider and the fourth best was Sugiuchi's change up.
0

DotobockDec. 16, 2011 - 11:42PM JST

Wada's fast ball is somewhere around 135. It's not fast. Not sure what this is in miles. Maybe 80, 85? The thing though, Irabu used to throw 155 which is somewhere around 95? Then his velocity dropped and he still tried to throw the same way. The same with Kawakami, Igawa and to an extent Matsuzaka. They had speed but their velocity gradually wore off. In that sense, maybe Wada could be a success because he never threw hard to begin with, and he never relied on his velocity and his velocity has not dropped. Im ranting here. We just got to sit back and see how this evolves as for now.
-1

sfjp330Dec. 17, 2011 - 04:46AM JST

DotobockDec. 16, 2011 - 11:42PM JST. Wada's fast ball is somewhere around 135. It's not fast. Not sure what this is in miles. Maybe 80, 85? The thing though, Irabu used to throw 155 which is somewhere around 95?

Wada throws consistant 85-87 in fastball. People sometimes put too much emphasis on the velocity of the fastball. Greg Maddux threw around 87-89 range. It's more about keeping the hitters off balanced. Maddux was good as anybody and threw 5-6mph slower than the power pitchers.
1

DotobockDec. 17, 2011 - 11:05AM JST

Maddux was amazing. He could pitch for sure, and I agree with you that to succeed as pitcher velocity does not have to be crucial. My point was that if pitchers never had much velocity or if their velocity is the same then pitchers are all right. Once pitchers start to lose their velocity then it means the career is starting to end. Kyuji Fujikawa a few seasons ago had an amazing fast ball but Kyuji of today does not have the same velocity. Him being a fast ball pitcher, his career has peaked. For a lot of Japanese players going to the States, their career had already peaked. Matsuzaka when he was 24 or so, when he was still skinny and young was hard to hit. Now though, he will never be the same Matsuzaka that he ever was. If he succeeds in the future it will be if he learns a complete new style to his pitching which I think will be tough, close to impossible.

Pitchers get the upper hand in the beginning until batters start to learn. With Wada, a 2 year contract is a good deal for Baltimore. They gambled on Wada for 2 years. They figured the batters would take two years before they would catch up with him. A bit like Okajima in Boston. He was good in the beginning until batters started to get used to him. Okajima though was never a great pitcher in Japan either, a mediocre mid relief. Pretty much the same as he is in the States.