Kevin Burkhardt of SNY says, from what he’s been told, “Takahashi is not a bullpen option.”
Instead, “he’s a Tom Glavine-type, who will either make the rotation or find a place in Triple-A Buffalo.”
Updated at 11:42 am:
David Waldstein of the New York Times says the Mets are on the verge of signing Japanese free-agent LHP Hisanori Takahashi to a minor-league contract, worth $1 million, with $500,000 in performance bonuses.
According to Waldstein, Takahashi chose the Mets over the Dodgers, Orioles, Red Sox and Padres, “all of whom offered minor league contracts as well.”
Original Post at 7:56 am:
Hochi Sports says Takahashi will sign a minor-league deal with either the Mets or Dodgers.
Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker believes Takahashi will first spend time in the minors.
Last week, Newman said the Mets and Takahashi were having a difficult time reaching a compromise on money.
The 34-year-old Takahashi had a 2.94 ERA in 25 games last year in Japan, while striking out 126 batters in 144 innings.
In a post to MASN Sports, Roch Kubatko said of Takahashi:
- His best pitch is a screwball.
- He won’t eat up a lot of innings, which is why he’s better suited for the bullpen.
- Lefties hit .300 against him last season.
To see video from of Takahashi, click here.
Ha- the only video they have is him coming in to get a lefty out and giving up a hit…
Probably gonna be the Dodgers anyway…
Bring back Yoshi!
‘Takahashi will sign with Mets or Dodgers’ is Latin for ‘Takahashi will sign with Dodgers’.
Lets start the season already, i’m getting tired of all the speculation. It’s like a broken record.
I’d prefer it if they waited until Beltran was back to start the season. You want more games without him?
lol i wish the season starterd May 3rd instead of June 5
my bad i meant instead of april 5th
I wouldn’t mind an update on beltran…it’s probably been close to a month since his surgery…I hope he is still on pace to be ready by may
An update would be helpful but honestly, I will believe he’s even somewhat ready to return when he is at least participating in baseball activities.
Unfortunately I think you’re right. I’m guessing he doesn’t play a game until Memorial day.
He’ll be ready in a week, just like everyone else…
This is the kind of guy we need for a cheap price. If it works out he could be like a Darren Oliver. 2nd lefty in the pen although he had success as a starter. Can spot start if you need and give you quality long innings out of the pen.
i hope hes half of what oliver was… still upset we let him walk… but did u see his lefty splits? .300 or something crazy like that… NOT GOOD
He’s a screwball pitcher though so he should be tougher against righties than lefties.
didn’t they announce that he turned down an offer from the mets last week??
You mean the Media was 100% WRONG….. I’m astounded… Shocked… and perplexed all at once…. The John Heymans of the world are never wrong!
yea this is just further evidence that rosenthal and others should not be counted as reliable sources. not only did they sign this guy after it was reported he turned down an offer, but apparently they are not broke. jeez
Lefties hit .300 off of him? In Japan? Wow.
Why not sign Calero? I know the Mets could use another lefty, but it would be nice to have another power arm in the pen in case either Escobar or Iggy don’t pan out, or Nieve winds up in the rotation (Nieve should be in the pen). As it is, if Nieve winds up being our 5th starter, then we wind up NEEDING Escobar to stay healthy and adjust well to the setup role, and for Iggy to adjust to the majors. That’s resting too much of the pen’s success, and therefore the Mets’, on two guys who have big if’s attached to them. If Nieve goes to the pen (with Niese starting), that does help matters quite a bit. It puts less pressure on Escobar and/or Iggy. And if we get Calero, then even if one or both of those guys struggle (or get reinjured in Escobar’s case), we could still have a good pen. And if those two do perform well, or if even just Escobar does, and you add that to Calero and Nieve, along with Parnell and K-Rod, Feliciano and Green, that could actually be a dominant bullpen, made up of power arms buffeted by a LOOGY and a ROOGY. Getting Calero could help increase our chances of success, while decreasing the risk of failure.
Agree on Calero, 100%. Lefties hit .187 against Calero last year! there’s no reason for the Mets NOT to sign him.
yes signing calero would make a ton of sense .. hence why he is not signed by the mets yet and probably wont be
Well calero’s .187 BAA was misleading. Lefties also had a 1.4 WHIP and he walked 18 batters in 20 innings. Also his BAA for the entire year was like .250 so his numbers as a whole were lucked based.
For my money on a left-hander i’d take Joe Beimel. He’s murderous against lefties like Feliciano, and his troubles come against righties.
Calero is still the best remaining FA RP out there though and i wouldn’t mind him as well.
It looks like he is slightly better against righties because of the screw ball but he might be useful in that he can get out both righties and lefties about equally. We can use Feliciano as an exclusive lefty guy.
This is an awesome signing for AA – oh wait they expect this guy to pitch in the majors? Oh.
This guy is a lefty but can’t get lefties out. He’s a starter but can’t go deep into games. I don’t see the point in this sigining.
The Mets weren’t the only team after him,there were 4 or 5 other teams also looking at him,including Dodgers and Redsox,so someone must see something in him.It’s a minor league deal,it’s not like they’re throwing alot of money at him.
That’s what I don’t understand………..Calero or Beimel would be a much better signing so why would 5 or 6 clubs be interested in this guy and the other 2 remain unsigned? There’s something I’m missing here.
Because they want MLB guaranteed contracts. This guy just took a Minor League contract.
He throws a screw ball which is a decieving pitch and often is equally effective, if not more, against righties. Remmeber John Franco? There was a reason he was a decent closer from the left for so many years.
I like the signing, a spot starter can be very valuable to a team. Now whether his stuff can translate to the major leagues, who knows but it’s always good to have depth pitching wise. The .300 against lefties stat is kind of a red flag to me but maybe he pitches better (hopefully) in the MLB level. Let’s just hope a few guys step up in that bullpen.
And so the reports that the Mets have “no money” are clearly not true…
Takahashi + Jacobs < Wang
And at the same price. I'd rather Evans play 1B and Wang starting in May for whoever falters than Jacobs and Parnell. Takahashi is a waste.
Wang won’t let a team give him a physical before signing.
Again for a guy like him or sheets that’s a risky investment. There is also no guarantee he will be ready by may, that’s just what his agent is telling you.
The thing is if it’s only a 1 year contract it’s not that much of a risk. If it doesn’t work out you are still free to go after someone else next winter. That’s why the Sheets contract didn’t seem that risky to me, it’s not like signing Sheets to a 1 yr contract this year would have prevented the Mets from going after a FA pitcher next winter if any of the big names make it that far without re-signing with their current teams.
Well it’s not a risk in terms of the long term success of the team. But are you willing to put up 2 million dollars without even knowing all the facts…
Lets put it into our terms… Your in business for yourself, and you have an open position. Would you be willing to give some guy 20,000 dollars before being able to interview him. You have his resume. You have a video of him working. But your not allowed to sit and talk with him.
That’s pretty much what this is like. Asking the mets in Both situations to Have FAITH that these guys will pitch and do well. They weren’t allowed to make a contract offer contingent on them not having a physical. 2 guys coming off surgeries. It just makes no sense (see JJ Putz)
To me Putz was even more of a risk because they knew he had the problem and they also knew he hadn’t had the surgery he needed to correct it. Also, with Putz there just wasn’t as much upside due to his role as 8th inning guy as there was with Sheets or Wang potentially filling the #2 slot in the rotation. I agree all are gambles but the Mets find themselves in a position where gambles may be the best option.
You got that right… I think that whole “out of money” comment must have been taken out of context. I just can’t see how they could be out of money when they had offered contracts to Pineiro and Molina and neither player took the money.
at his age 36 i guess don’t you worry with his experience he be so willing to accept a minor league job here where he can make double that in Japan?
Someone like Us!!!
Totally worth the signing, worse case scenario he stinks in Buffalo…Best case he becomes another Feliciano…
apparently its a done deal… im not so much excited about this guy itself as i am about the fact that he is unknown to every hitter in the majors.. and the screwball
Agreed. He could be very effective for a year or two just by being deceptive and unseen before.
or, he could be Kei Igawa.
At least the Mets didn’t pay him 7 mil for 21 years.
I meant 7 mil per year for 3 years…. Ha who is he Bobby Bonilla getting paid for 20 years.
You mean for an inning or two don’t you?
also this looks pretty promising…….
Is coming off a solid 2009 campaign: 10-6, 2.94 ERA, 121/36 K/BB in 144 IP
the Mets really don’t seem to understand basic math. 10 x $1million = $10 million. let’s see, GMJ, Tatis, Cora ($2 mil), Takahashi, Jacobs (i know, not guaranteed, yet), Blanco… and then there’s Escobar and Igarashi, who no one knows how they will do for another couple million bucks (not sure how much they are getting). Mets math: Quantity > Quality.
like Matt said in his interview yesterday, the Mets should go with who they have in their system some more, e.g. Nick Evans, Chris Carter, Roy Merritt, and then they could have some chunks of change to sign proven guys like Calero or Hudson, or an SP like Garland or Pineiro (i know, the SP’s aren’t great, but if you’re gonna blow the money anyway…) or a catcher like Olivo (or Barajas) or take a slight risk with a HUGE upside like Bedard or Wang.
i’m not rooting for the Mets to fall apart here. In fact, i’d love to see all the signings work out. it just seems kind of improbable, which means the moves were less than logical (at least to me.)
i should have mentioned Felipe Lopez, too. i really wish the Mets would have signed him (i know he’s unsigned, but i know they won’t sign him now.)
we all complained that they dump all of their money in one basket… so they spread it out and bring more guys in.. and still there are complainers
i really dont get it… im happy that there is not a set 25 man roster… guys will surprise us and get playing time just like in the past
valentine, tatis, santos, r. martinez
give guys a shot and make things more competitive
how much can any of those guys really surprise us anymore? and how many will surprise us? and i’m not saying dump all of the money in one basket, for example, on Lackey or Holiday. i’m saying a few PROVEN guys, like Olivo, Calero, F. Lopez and Wang. you could probably have all 4 for about $12 mil. or a little more. you’re saying that would NOT be better?
i’m just saying. Matt has been making similar arguments. I know there is no point because it’s all done. and I am going to root for the players we have. just saying what would have made more sense to me. this is a blog, after all.
would you rather have the possibility of being surprised or confidence?
thats true… but why are these guys still on the market?
olivo – come on man hes not much of an upgrade
calero – dont know to much about him, but its a bullpen arm, and we all know those are interchangeable… i dont like having more than 2 guys on multi-year contracts coming out of the pen (see scott blowenweise)
lopez is SOLID.. and im upset the mets dont see a fit for him
wang hasnt pitched in 2 years… if he a guy i would take a risk on… yes.. but hes another IF and wont be ready until late may
all in all.. u do have a point.. and i would love to add another solid arm in the rotation .. but i love how they put a value on each player, offered a deal, and didnt go overboard when they were offered a better contract
What’s with the Mets’ infatuation with left-handed releivers named Takahashi who can’t get lefties out? anyone remember Ken Takahashi from last year? Lefties hit .302 off him, and righties only .156.
Then he takes Sean Greens Role in the bullpen.
Unfortunately the manager is Jerry Manuel and will call in a lefty who can’t get out a Lefty because he’s a Lefty.
Uhhhhh you know aaaaaaaa stats are stats aaaaaaaaanddddd we have stats that say in that situation you know he was going to be successful anddddddddddddddd my gut told me to give the guy a shot. This time it didn’t work out.
I am a big fan of giving the Japanese pitchers that have had success a chance. Sometimes you get lightning in a bottle and IF they are really good, they aren’t FA’s for 6 years over here.
i guess we werent “out of money” we found 400k for possibly the second coming takashi kashawada.
Awesome. Not every day someone makes a Kash-Wad reference.
Be sure to tune into SNY hot stove tonight so you can hear Minaya act like he just signed the Japanese John Franco. this act is getting tiring already by the mets.
So, we just signed some guy named Takahashi and Mike Jacobs for what the Nats are giving Wang? Smart!
jacobs and takahashi are minor league deals and are a different budget. Wang is a major league deal. So the 2 arent the same.
However, I do agree with you they should have paid for Wang. They are losers.
or better yet now hes a Tom Glavine type. . Also, one question to Matt. How come after Minaya was on Hotstove a couple of weeks ago talking about how good the Mets staff is I didnt see you post about that show or critisize them. Do the mets ownership now have a say on what you write? its starting to become obvious they do.
I could be wrong, but this is Matt’s JOB. Which makes the Mets his boss in a sense, since he’s affiliated with SNY. Do you publicly slam the decisions your boss makes? If you did, i’m sure that boss would fire you.
I would also like to add Matt is typically very honest with his readers. He has voiced displeasure at times. I look at his coverage and see it is pretty much even. He doesn’t ra-ra every move and will voice a difference in opinion much like the SNY announcers will on occasion. Just because he doesn’t rip ownership apart doesn’t mean they have a say in what is written. If I remember correctly he also did not come on here after that Hot Stove and go on and on about how great the staff is etc. In the end he is trying to use this blog as a way to report on the Mets and therefore tries to stay as middle of the road as possible to provide even coverage just like a newspaper reporter should be doing.
It makes Buffalo a better team, and I think I recall the Mets not being happy with the way the team carried themselves. With Figgy, Neise, Nieve, Takahashi, Stoner & Gee, they should be good, and provide plenty of insurance. I think one will make the big club
im sorry did i miss the televised version of wangs workouts, must have been quite a sight since only the nats have even shown a remote interest. btw the yankees are pretty smart and they felt ok about not giving him any money. maybe hes NOT the same wang he once was and the one we would be praying him to be when we wasted our money on him. do mets fans think the front office has a goal to sign the wrong guys? at some point we have to trust that omar and his staff can judge if wang is worth a shot. hes not the best gm in baseball but hes a decent evaluator of talent and has brought in some very pleasant surprises over the years so lets not get to dissapointed that the wang who won 19 games isnt still around on the market for a minor league deal.
My issues with Wang are he isn’t letting teams look at his medical records and is looking to sign before he throws for teams. Before I commit anything to a guy off an injury I would like to at least see a bullpen or two. At least that way I know his arm even still works.
I agree with you 100%. If thats the case, F wang. LOL
i read some where that the dodgers had watched him pitch and then decided not to offer him a contract.
i thought they said that this guy turned down the mets last week??? the reports said he wasnt going to the mets what happened???
No actually Matt is usually good. Sometimes he just harps on things that dont mean much or over analyzes. But I can give him one thing hes a die hard fan like the rest of us who just want to win. and its just like anything people disagree on things thats what makes things interesting if everybody agreed on everything there would be no use for these blogs.