ESPN reporter Jeff Passan reported on September 10 (September 11 JST) in an article surveying this offseason’s MLB market that three players — Seibu’s Taira Kaima, Hanshin’s Satoh Teruaki, and Nippon-Ham’s Ito Hiromi — are exploring MLB moves via the posting system. The report comes at a sensitive time, with the current collective bargaining agreement set to expire on December 1 and a lockout expected, which could affect how aggressively teams pursue reinforcements this offseason. On 5ch, reactions centered heavily on Satoh Teruaki, with opinions split between those who believe Hanshin — chasing back-to-back-to-back titles next year — would never let go of a core hitter, and those who think the team would approve the posting given the posting fee and last year’s contentious contract renewal talks.
ESPN’s ace reporter reports on the possible U.S. moves via the posting system for Seibu’s Taira Kaima, Hanshin’s Satoh Teruaki, Nippon-Ham’s Ito Hiromi, and others (Sports Hochi) – Yahoo! News
ESPN’s ace reporter J. Passan published an article on the 10th (the 11th JST) surveying this offseason’s free agent market. He notes that with the current collective bargaining agreement set to expire on December 1, followed by an expected lockout, teams are likely to be cautious about reinforcing their rosters this offseason.
He adds that pitcher Taira Kaima (26) of Seibu, infielder Satoh Teruaki (27) of Hanshin, and pitcher Ito Hiromi (29) of Nippon-Ham appear to be aiming for the majors via the posting system. Taira draws the most attention in the article.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
Ito's probably headed to SoftBank after just one year, huh
Kamizawa might come back to Ham at the same time, like Arihara did
They're gunning for a third straight title next year, so they need him
Pro baseball is a business that makes money
As a company, Hanshin's current situation — winning, competing for the pennant, packed stadiums, merch flying off shelves — is already perfect. Winning two or three in a row would actually raise payroll from salary bumps and cut into profits
This year's title is already looking pretty shaky, honestly
I mean, even the back-to-back looks unlikely at this point…
The team won't approve Maki going
That would kill their shot at the title
They've got FUJI now, so they'll manage
The problem is guys can go to MLB on a whim because even if it doesn't work out, there's a fat contract waiting back home
Satoteru won back-to-back titles — a batting double crown last year and a triple crown this year — that's plenty
This bar is set insanely high, actually
Wouldn't be shocked if winning the pennant or the home run title is a condition for the posting
Something like: "If I don't hit, Mr. Satoh's going to America… so please let me hit!"
That might be what's going on
MLB: the best league in the world. If you succeed, you get noticed. Even Fujinami got 1.01 billion yen on a minor-league deal
Of course they'll go if they can
Even if MLB doesn't work out, NPB teams will still pay big to bring you back
NPB teams are raking it in but still lowball salaries
They seemed pretty stubborn about it last offseason
Plan is to make Satoteru and Takina pay for the 15-billion-yen extension work on Koshien's silver roof via their posting fees
Posting is the team's call to make
Satoteru has no say in it
Posting is a team right, not a player right
Satoteru's still two years from free agency — there's zero benefit for Hanshin to approve it this year
Sounds like you think a player saying "I want to go" is enough to make it happen
The players' union won't sign off on something that one-sidedly disadvantages players
That's on NPB and the union for scrapping the Tazawa rule without offering any alternative
Teams that don't like it can just… not do it themselves
Kind of rich coming from someone who posted their own guy
Makes no sense that refusing the posting would get them flak
That shouldn't be allowed — what's the point of FA then
MLB's expanding to 32 teams eventually anyway, right?
They should just buy a team, like Nintendo did with the Mariners
Bring over MLB guys stuck in a rut, send their own prospects over there — win-win
He's putting up a freakish 14% whiff rate on his fastball as a starter — numbers you'd normally only see from relief-only guys
On top of that his splitter and varied breaking stuff, plus the deceptive angle from being short, are what scouts like
The downside is his pitch count runs high
They also don't want things to end badly with Satoh and have him walk via FA never to return
I think they'll hold onto him until the year before he's FA-eligible internationally
Under the current system the posting fee won't be some crazy huge number
It's not like the Igawa era, and Hanshin isn't hurting for cash, so there's no pressure to sell
Even if they're not hurting for cash
they'll sell if it's profitable
I think this theory's the most likely one
By every measure — contribution and everything else — he's ahead of Taira
Nothing against Ito, but I can't picture him succeeding in the majors
Their average velocity and ERA are just too different
Ito Hiromi's strength is being an innings-eater, but I think he'd give up too much in MLB to even rack up innings there
Background and key points of this discussion
The posting system only goes through if the team approves it — a player’s wish alone isn’t enough to make a move to the majors happen. Hanshin still holds Satoh Teruaki’s rights for two more years before he reaches free agency, and the thread was split between those who think the team would approve a posting if a hefty fee is on offer, and those who think roster needs for a title defense mean they won’t let him go. Meanwhile, opinions on Taira Kaima were mixed: his high fastball whiff rate in relief and varied breaking pitches drew praise, but some worried about his high pitch counts as a starter. And for Ito Hiromi, skeptics were vocal that his innings-eater profile might not translate to MLB, where he could give up too many long balls to rack up innings. Also worth noting: with the current CBA set to expire December 1 and a lockout expected, the timing could affect how teams approach reinforcements and posting negotiations this offseason.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nanjyaku) thread “Hanshin’s Satoh Teruaki, Seibu’s Taira Kaima, and Nippon-Ham’s Ito Hiromi all eyeing MLB moves this offseason lol.”
