Orioles closing in on Japanese lefty Tsuyoshi Wada (Update: Wada is signed)

[Brendan25]

Really? If he ends up a middle reliever, it's still good to spend $8 million on him? I know he's asian, and we want to tap that market, but it's not that simple. I'd rather be the shrewd team tapping a good market than the stupid team over paying for guys that don't perform at the ML level.

It's unclear whether this guy can be a starter in the ML level.

The Orioles paid more for Koji, we weren't saying that his contract was handicapping us when hew as our setup man. If Wada sucks then yes this contract will bite us, but if he becomes a reliable bullpen arm it isn't a horrible deal. Low risk, high reward.

[Malike]

The Orioles paid more for Koji, we weren't saying that his contract was handicapping us when hew as our setup man. If Wada sucks then yes this contract will bite us, but if he becomes a reliable bullpen arm it isn't a horrible deal. Low risk, high reward.

4 Million dollars per for two years is never going to bite this team. Look at the lousy contracts we gave to Baez, Gonzalez, Gregg, etc. Wada's contract isn't going to bite the O's.

[GoldGlove21]

The deal's fine, but I'm more interested in whether he can get major league hitters out.

So, now we have:

Guthrie

Wada

Britton

Arrieta

Matusz

Tillman

Bergesen

Hunter

Simon

Eveland

It's getting pretty crowded in there, especially if they add Chen. At that point, maybe we are trading someone away.

Was Bergesen non-tendered? My bet in terms of a trade would be Tillman, Guthrie or Matusz in that order.

[Tony-OH]

So if I can reconcile your two posts correctly, you think that Chen would take Wada's opportunity? Or do you think that it'll be guthrie, britton, Chen, wada, and arrieta with Matusz in Norfolk and Simon, Eveland, and hunter in the pen?

I just mean eventually, Wada could end up a very good 8th inning guy even if he can't make it as a starter, as some reports have suggested. I'm planning to write more about this later, but one thought is to move Arrieta to closer where I think he would thrive if they signed Chen.

[SilentJames]

MMMMMM, Sapporo

Finally something we can agree on.

Beer, is there nothing you can't do?

[RVAbird]

I just mean eventually, Wada could end up a very good 8th inning guy even if he can't make it as a starter, as some reports have suggested. I'm planning to write more about this later, but one thought is to move Arrieta to closer where I think he would thrive if they signed Chen.

I agree with these evaluations, but I would like to give Arrieta one full, healthy season in the rotation to see what he can do before a conversion. Particularly when a guy like Chen is more of a mid-term solution and there are still several long-term question marks in the rotation. If Chen is signed I'd pretty much resign to the idea of Wada in the bullpen save a bunch of injuries or trades.

[Brendan25]

I agree. I'm not ready to move Arrieta to closer yet.

[Going Underground]

Finally something we can agree on.

Beer, is there nothing you can't do?

If we sign both going to get a Sapporo and a Taiwan beer to celebrate. Taiwan beer is new to the area.

[WEAVERMAN]

Agreed, he looks solid in the clip.

[shoriole]

So, is this the Orioles way of leveling the playing field in a convoluted sort of way? We can't hit lefties very well so we go out and sign as many lefty SP types to throw at the opponents (no pun intended).

[DrungoHazewood]

...but one thought is to move Arrieta to closer where I think he would thrive if they signed Chen.

I agree with these evaluations, but I would like to give Arrieta one full, healthy season in the rotation to see what he can do before a conversion. Particularly when a guy like Chen is more of a mid-term solution and there are still several long-term question marks in the rotation. If Chen is signed I'd pretty much resign to the idea of Wada in the bullpen save a bunch of injuries or trades.

Agreed about leaving Arrieta in the rotation for a while longer, at least until he's reasonably proven he's not a big asset as a starter. If Arrieta can just be a 200 inning guy with a 105 ERA+ I'd leave him in the rotation for good.

And I think we all know that "save a bunch of injuries" is probably a likely case. Injuries, ineffectiveness... you need 7-10 starters.

[RVAbird]

Agreed about leaving Arrieta in the rotation for a while longer, at least until he's reasonably proven he's not a big asset as a starter. If Arrieta can just be a 200 inning guy with a 105 ERA+ I'd leave him in the rotation for good.

And I think we all know that "save a bunch of injuries" is probably a likely case. Injuries, ineffectiveness... you need 7-10 starters.

Yep, which is why I'm fine with the depth as long as it's not cost-prohibitive.

[shoriole]

The O's could potentially have 4 lefties in the starting rotation. How many teams have ever had that many?

[clapdiddy]

Having guys like Wada and Hunter in the bullpen could really be handy in case of injuries.

[TonySoprano]

Two Japanese league pitchers?

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