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According to the Arizona Republic, the D’Backs have added dollars, not years, to their initial three-year, $27 million contract proposal to Japanese free-agent RHP Hiroki Kuroda.
…as i had been writing for a while now, the buzz around kuroda 
had been that he’ll seek around $45 million…i assume that’d be for four years, but maybe it’ll be over three…
Last week in the New York Post, Mark Hale wrote that the Mets once had ‘legitimate interest’ in Kuroda, and even reached the ‘second round of bidding,’ but, ‘as it turned out,’ they are no longer ‘of the four finalists.’
…additionally, the buzz around kuroda has long been that while the Royals, Mets and Cubs may have interest, he prefers to pitch on the West Coast…though they said the same thing about Kei Igawa, last off-season, who ended up pitching for the Yankees…
According to MLB.com, Kuroda is seeking a four-year deal.
For more on Kuroda, check out ArmChair GM.
By the way, Japanese free-agent OF Kosuke Fukudome told the Associated Press on Tuesday that he will sign his next contract with a team in MLB.
…it was sounding like a forgone conclusion from people in Nashville that he would eventually sign a deal with the Padres or Cubs, though i suspect his official decision to play in America may now draw in a few new teams…
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The difference between Kuroda and Igawa, though, is that Igawa required a posting fee while Kuroda is a complete free agent. ANSKY had to pay some $12-20 mil just to talk with Kei before giving him a $26 mil deal.
yeah, I was just gonna say that Igawa really had no say in where he went to. So it didn’t matter where he prefered to play. It was either the Yankees or back to Japan. This guy is a full fledged free agent and can do what he pleases. So the whole Igawa comparision is irrelevant.
I would at least talk to Fukudome. If he would accept a contract for less than Rowand then I would be intrigued. It would make Church/Gomez more tradeable or allow Church to be the super sub. Its only money and cost us no draft picks. Who knows he could be as good as Ichiro or the other Matsui. Then again he could be Shinjo II. I still say it might be worth the risk given the options.
If an average at best, aging question mark from Japan is getting this kind of contract, the pitching market is more out of whack than I thought, based on trade proposals floated!
To me, that means you need to hang on to viable pitching prospects if at all possible, and try to develop your own rotation strength. It is just too hard to find them elsewhere.
Hey, it works for Beane and the A’s!