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

[backwardsk]

Wada could end up an 8th inning guy like Koji if they sign Chen. I think they'll give him every opportunity to start but if the workload ends up too much, I could see him become pretty valuable out of the pen.

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?

[Hank Scorpio]

All it takes is a Heyman tweet about some phantom "Angelos mandate" to turn this place on its head.

[Going Underground]

Well. Number one, Darvish will require more than a three year deal, so even if we were to win the post, we would be out.

Two, we are not getting the Fresh Prince.

Three, If the were going to trade Matusz, Kenny Williams would be the guy to trade him to.

Eveland signed a very reasonable deal.

I think they sell sushi.*

* speculation, no inside information

I was saying the week was going to be interesting. The Fresh Prince did marry a girl from Bmore. They need sushi in every stand and market to a new consumer base.

[Sports Guy]

I think we are out on Darvish. I still think the Floyd,Quentin trade can happen. I don't think Fielder is going to the Mariners. I think it is down to about three or four teams.I hear this week might be very interesting.At least won't have to talk about Eveland for 56 pages. Need to get season ticket holders to start renewing. Sushi should now be sold at the Yard and Sapporo Beer.

MMMMMM, Sapporo

[ChaosLex]

I was saying the week was going to be interesting. The Fresh Prince did marry a girl from Bmore. They need sushi in every stand and market to a new consumer base.

Yeah, the home roots angle worked so well for A.J. Burnett and Teixeira.

[bandy75]

Well. Number one, Darvish will require more than a three year deal, so even if we were to win the post, we would be out.

Two, we are not getting the Fresh Prince.

Three, If the were going to trade Matusz, Kenny Williams would be the guy to trade him to.

Eveland signed a very reasonable deal.

I think they sell sushi.*

* speculation, no inside information

I doubt this is set in stone, especially for a non-free agent signing. It's kinda like the facial hair policy, no facial hair until we sign a couple big names who happen to have facial hair. I'm confident that if they bid enough to win the rights to Darvish this "3 year rule" will not be an issue.

[RVAbird]

It speaks to a paradigm shift in our philosophy.

It seems so. I'm hoping that new paradigm is "scout heavily and invest wisely" rather than "throw money at short term solutions to say you're players in the int'l market."

[Frobby]

It's a nice change of strategy, but signing a bunch of 5th starters/relievers to multi-year guaranteed deals probably doesn't do much for the long-term needs of the team. I like the aggression and am okay with the targets, but the work they are doing in Latin America is probably more important than the guys they are plucking out of Asia right now. And the improvement in the development system trumps all of this in terms of long-term importance.

I agree with this. I just like the message that is being sent.

[Hank Scorpio]

"Excuse me, but 'proactive' and 'paradigm'? Aren't these just buzzwords that dumb people use to sound important? Not that I'm accusing you of anything like that. I'm fired, aren't I?"

"Oh, yeah."

Hi five for Simpsons reference.

[jtschrei]

Feels like they are loading up so that they can trade Guthrie. I really like Guthrie as a poster-boy for the team-- ie., likable & hard-working. But if you don't extend him, you HAVE to trade him. I don't think we're extending him. And I know we're NOT going to playoffs next year ... so you have to get some value for him now.

I would love to get Chen also.

[RVAbird]

I agree with this. I just like the message that is being sent.

I agree. I am content with the Wada signing and am happy about the pursuit of Chen. I just hope the message isn't empty. The targets need to be right and the money needs to be invested wisely.

[Brendan25]

It's a nice change of strategy, but signing a bunch of 5th starters/relievers to multi-year guaranteed deals probably doesn't do much for the long-term needs of the team. I like the aggression and am okay with the targets, but the work they are doing in Latin America is probably more important than the guys they are plucking out of Asia right now. And the improvement in the development system trumps all of this in terms of long-term importance.

I agree with this. But like SG said, the Wada signing is not a signing that can handicap us. Whether he is a #3 starter or a back of the bullpen arm, as long as he benefits to wins, it is a good signing. Chen looks like he could be a pretty good pitcher. We need to see what contract he is going to get before we judge it, but I don't think the O's are going to give Chen an average size contract with hopes that he is a #4 starter.

[Malike]

Hope he holds up in the heat better than Koji

Well, either Koji isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, or he just wasn't that hot in this picture. I mean, he's like sitting behind the fan, and its off.

[UMDTerrapins]

Well, either Koji isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, or he just wasn't that hot in this picture. I mean, he's like sitting behind the fan, and its off.

Looks like the fan blades are blurred, so it's on...but he is on the wrong side. Doesn't matter much, if you're an Oriole reliever you probably either suck or blow anyhow.

[LookinUp]

Whether he is a #3 starter or a back of the bullpen arm, as long as he benefits to wins, it is a good signing.

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.