He's spent most of his recent time at 3B and outfield.
At first glance, I like his swing, I think he could do well
Here is a highlight video (note home runs against Madison Bumgartner and Hisashi Iwakuma)
Here is his Baseball Reference Bio
Showing posts with label Free Agents. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Free Agents. Show all posts
Saturday, November 26, 2016
Dragons Sign Former-Dodger Alex Guerrero
Per yakyudb, Chunichi has signed Alex Guerrero
He's spent most of his recent time at 3B and outfield.
At first glance, I like his swing, I think he could do well
Here is a highlight video (note home runs against Madison Bumgartner and Hisashi Iwakuma)
Here is his Baseball Reference Bio
He's spent most of his recent time at 3B and outfield.
At first glance, I like his swing, I think he could do well
Here is a highlight video (note home runs against Madison Bumgartner and Hisashi Iwakuma)
Here is his Baseball Reference Bio
Monday, November 16, 2015
Free Agents of Interest
NPB free agency is now open, and as usual only a handful of players filed. The few free agents available are supplemented though by a number of guys who have been let go by their former teams.
Here are a few guys of interest:
Bryan Bullington - Was with Orix last year and Hiroshima previously. Has been consistently solid and Chunichi needs rotation depth. He's 34, I would think he could be had for a reasonable price.
Matt Murton - The price would have to be right, but he could help in replacing some of what Chunichi lost in Wada. Defense and speed is not great and coming off a subpar year, but he's been solid performer in the NPB. Would be worth it in a buy-low opportunity.
Jason Standridge - 36 but eats innings, been dependable for 6 years in Japan. Again, Dragons need depth.
Tomotaka Sakaguchi - Hasn't produced much in the last several years, but may do well in fresh situation. Dragons need outfielders, but unfortunately Yakult looks like they've already scooped him up. I haven't seen yet what they signed him too.
Andrew Brown - This guy was recently released from Korea's SK Wyverns. The former Nebraska Cornhusker and MLB player hit 28 home runs in the KBO last year and could maybe add some pop to Chunichi's outfield situation.
Here are a few guys of interest:
Bryan Bullington - Was with Orix last year and Hiroshima previously. Has been consistently solid and Chunichi needs rotation depth. He's 34, I would think he could be had for a reasonable price.
Matt Murton - The price would have to be right, but he could help in replacing some of what Chunichi lost in Wada. Defense and speed is not great and coming off a subpar year, but he's been solid performer in the NPB. Would be worth it in a buy-low opportunity.
Jason Standridge - 36 but eats innings, been dependable for 6 years in Japan. Again, Dragons need depth.
Tomotaka Sakaguchi - Hasn't produced much in the last several years, but may do well in fresh situation. Dragons need outfielders, but unfortunately Yakult looks like they've already scooped him up. I haven't seen yet what they signed him too.
Andrew Brown - This guy was recently released from Korea's SK Wyverns. The former Nebraska Cornhusker and MLB player hit 28 home runs in the KBO last year and could maybe add some pop to Chunichi's outfield situation.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Dragons' Starting Rotation Announced
Per Nikkan Sports and yakyubaka the following pitchers will make up the Dragons starting rotation to begin the year:
Daisuke Yamai - Coming off the best season of his career, hopefully he can follow it up with another quality season
Raul Valdes - New foreign player, he has been very impressive throughout the preseason.
Kenta Asakura - Not sure why he was included, he hasn't had a successful season at ichi-gun since 2009
Yudai Ohno - Currently the most promising young starter Chunichi has
Tomoya Yagi - Free agent pickup, most recently with Orix. He's had a nice preseason and earned his spot. My wife has been rooting for him since she saw him on the TV show "Senryokugai Tsukoku," He's the father of five children.
Yudai Kawai - Solid last year in 18 starts, should be a good end of the rotation guy
Overall looks to be an improvement over last year. It seems unlikely that Asakura will remain in the rotation for long. Tatsura Hamada, Shinji Iwata, Junki Ito or someone else will probably take his spot sooner rather than later. Former ace, Kazuki Yoshimi, has pitched frequently and fairly well this preseason but is still working his way back from injury. Hopefully he will return to the rotation at some point this year.
Daisuke Yamai - Coming off the best season of his career, hopefully he can follow it up with another quality season
Raul Valdes - New foreign player, he has been very impressive throughout the preseason.
Kenta Asakura - Not sure why he was included, he hasn't had a successful season at ichi-gun since 2009
Yudai Ohno - Currently the most promising young starter Chunichi has
Tomoya Yagi - Free agent pickup, most recently with Orix. He's had a nice preseason and earned his spot. My wife has been rooting for him since she saw him on the TV show "Senryokugai Tsukoku," He's the father of five children.
Yudai Kawai - Solid last year in 18 starts, should be a good end of the rotation guy
Overall looks to be an improvement over last year. It seems unlikely that Asakura will remain in the rotation for long. Tatsura Hamada, Shinji Iwata, Junki Ito or someone else will probably take his spot sooner rather than later. Former ace, Kazuki Yoshimi, has pitched frequently and fairly well this preseason but is still working his way back from injury. Hopefully he will return to the rotation at some point this year.
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Upcoming Free Agency
Lots of NPB free agency rumors out there right now as the period for free agents to declare themselves is now open. Eligible players with free agency options still have several days to declare so at this point it's still unclear who exactly will be available to sign.
After missing the last two post-seasons Chunichi should be a player in the free agent market, but based on recent history they probably won't be much of one. The Dragons have obvious needs at catcher, middle infield and starting pitching and there are some potentially useful players out there.
Lets take a look at their options at the following positions:
Catcher:
This may be Chunichi's greatest need, but unfortunately it looks like the two most promising catchers eligible for free agency will be remaining with their current teams. Motohiro Shima would be a great pick up, he's a good all-around player and from the Chubu region. Unfortunately he has chosen to remain with Rakuten. Ginjiro Sumitani of the Lions was another potential target, though his offensive numbers are nothing special, he probably would have been upgrade for the Dragons. He was linked to the Dragons in several articles during the season, but in the end he chose to remain with Seibu for at least one more season.
Middle Infield:
There are a few potential difference makers out there. Hiroyuki Nakajima, Kensuke Tanaka, Yuichi Honda, Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Eishin Soyogi could all be on the market. If I could have my choice I'd take Tanaka or Nishioka. Tanaka is just a pro in every way, he'd look great as the two hitter in Chunichi's lineup and at second base every day. Sounds likely though that he will be returning to the Fighters for the upcoming season. Nishioka is one of the youngest of the group and though he's coming off of a tough injury, he has already re-acclimated himself to the NPB and had some success in 2013. Nakajima will likely be expensive and may not be what he once was, I highly doubt Honda will exercise his option and I've never really been a fan of Soyogi though he's coming off of a couple solid seasons and I doubt he'll be leaving the Carp.
Starting Pitching:
Chunichi's first order of business in free agency was to lock up Daisuke Yamai who earned his free agent option for the first time after last season. Yamai, coming off of his best season, will be staying with the Dragons and at a reasonable price. Some interesting potential free agent starting pitchers are Chihiro Kaneko, Yoshihisa Naruse, Atsushi Nomi and Hiroki Kuroda. The Dragons haven't been linked to any of these other starters so it's probably a long shot for them to go get any of them. If they have a chance at any of them it's probably Naruse, he's going to end up somewhere.
UPDATE:
Yakyubaka has posted a list of the players who have filed for free agency, linked here.
Ryoji Aikawa has filed and would be a nice pick up. He's 38, so not a long term option, but could be a useful catching option for a couple years. None of the domestic infield options I listed filed, like usual, a very limited NPB free agent class.
After missing the last two post-seasons Chunichi should be a player in the free agent market, but based on recent history they probably won't be much of one. The Dragons have obvious needs at catcher, middle infield and starting pitching and there are some potentially useful players out there.
Lets take a look at their options at the following positions:
Catcher:
This may be Chunichi's greatest need, but unfortunately it looks like the two most promising catchers eligible for free agency will be remaining with their current teams. Motohiro Shima would be a great pick up, he's a good all-around player and from the Chubu region. Unfortunately he has chosen to remain with Rakuten. Ginjiro Sumitani of the Lions was another potential target, though his offensive numbers are nothing special, he probably would have been upgrade for the Dragons. He was linked to the Dragons in several articles during the season, but in the end he chose to remain with Seibu for at least one more season.
Middle Infield:
There are a few potential difference makers out there. Hiroyuki Nakajima, Kensuke Tanaka, Yuichi Honda, Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Eishin Soyogi could all be on the market. If I could have my choice I'd take Tanaka or Nishioka. Tanaka is just a pro in every way, he'd look great as the two hitter in Chunichi's lineup and at second base every day. Sounds likely though that he will be returning to the Fighters for the upcoming season. Nishioka is one of the youngest of the group and though he's coming off of a tough injury, he has already re-acclimated himself to the NPB and had some success in 2013. Nakajima will likely be expensive and may not be what he once was, I highly doubt Honda will exercise his option and I've never really been a fan of Soyogi though he's coming off of a couple solid seasons and I doubt he'll be leaving the Carp.
Starting Pitching:
Chunichi's first order of business in free agency was to lock up Daisuke Yamai who earned his free agent option for the first time after last season. Yamai, coming off of his best season, will be staying with the Dragons and at a reasonable price. Some interesting potential free agent starting pitchers are Chihiro Kaneko, Yoshihisa Naruse, Atsushi Nomi and Hiroki Kuroda. The Dragons haven't been linked to any of these other starters so it's probably a long shot for them to go get any of them. If they have a chance at any of them it's probably Naruse, he's going to end up somewhere.
UPDATE:
Yakyubaka has posted a list of the players who have filed for free agency, linked here.
Ryoji Aikawa has filed and would be a nice pick up. He's 38, so not a long term option, but could be a useful catching option for a couple years. None of the domestic infield options I listed filed, like usual, a very limited NPB free agent class.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)