Over the past few days, there have been numerous reports that the Mets were close to signing reliever Ryota Igarashi from Japan. Not exactly the type of big-name player New York fans are used to bringing in, right? But hey, at least they didn’t trade Cliff Lee to the Mariners for prospects that might help out in 2012! But I digress…Rhett Bollinger at MLB.com reported today that the Metropolitans finally put the finishing touches on Igarashi’s deal:
The club announced Thursday it had signed the 30-year-old right-handed reliever from Japan to a two-year contract and thereby addressed one of its primary needs. Igarashi pitched 11 seasons with the Yakult Swallows of the Japanese Central League, serving as a reliever exclusively in 507 games.
The deal is reportedly worth $3 million, with Igarashi getting $1.25 million next season and $1.75 million in 2011. He can earn an additional $500,000 in performance bonuses over two years
"We've had an interest in Ryota for two years," Mets general manager Omar Minaya said in a statement Thursday. "He's got a power arm and an outstanding split-finger [fastball]."
Wow! Two years is a long time to pine for a middle relief pitcher, Omar. Is Ryota worth the wait? To find out, we checked in with our go-to Japanese baseball expert, Brandon Siefken from Japan Baseball News:
I know off hand from my MLB scouting sources that he was demanding money that was bordering insane, and therefore was only available for a big market team with deep pockets.
Ryota Igarashi is a reliever who runs very hot and very cold. He’ll have an amazing scoreless inning streak and then go on an ugly skid. He thinks he is better than he really is…I do not believe he is ready for MLB, physically or mentally.
I am not high on Ryota. Not a starter, he’ll fill a relief role for the Mets. MLB scouts that I have shared opinions with like him more than I do, feeling in the right situation, he can be a solid innings eater in middle relief.
Last year, in 53.2 innings pitched, his ERA was a beefy 3.19, which is a red flag to me. Ryota only struck out 44 batters for a K/9 of only 7.39, which seems low for a reliever. He does not dominate, despite his reputation as a dominator. I can see some ugly innings in America on the horizon.
Brandon might seem a little harsh in his evaluation of Igarashi, but the point he is driving home here is that this latest Japanese import did not exactly set the world on fire across the Pacific. Although known to possess a power-arm, Ryota’s stats were just average compared to the best relievers in his league.
In my opinion, the salary figures here tell the story. This guy might have been demanding big money, but he’s only getting average money to be a reliever in The Big Apple. According to The Biz of Baseball, National League relievers made a little over $1.6 million on average in 2009. As y’all can see, the Mets aren’t taking a huge financial risk, here. Fantasy-speaking, Ryota was signed as potential set-up guy and is not in line for saves. Until we see how he reacts under the pressure of the New York spotlight, it’s impossible to know if his ERA can help you. After reading Siefken’s scouting report, I’m expecting a Chad Durbin-like pitcher. At the most, Igarashi is a guy to keep tabs on after your draft.
