The Trades, Transfers, Juuki, Extensions, Rule 5, and Arbitration

January 30, 2013: Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture – The Kawaguchi Transmitters management team returned from their trip to Mt. Fuji refreshed and ready to take on the daunting task of revamping the organization.  This is good because November and December are arguably the busiest and most important months of the year for a rebuilding baseball organization.

Per the master plan, Scouting director Akiyama announced that both Hisamitsu Osawa and fellow Taito hurler Kazunari Oka would be sent to Winter Ball to work on their control.  Collins also set to the phones to look into possible deals that might net the team a shortstop or a starting pitcher.

The trade landscape proved barren, however.  Calls to Naha to investigate the availability of Hogai Kito and to Hyakujuu Shinkansen to explore a blockbuster that would include budding star Razan Okada were politely rebuffed.  Collins took other explorations into the centerfielder role, but the best he could manage was a suggestion that Neo-Tokyo‘s Michael Williams was likely available due to the Akira’s signing of Oliver Guzmán.  Williams is a star defender with great speed and an adequate bat.  The team likes him a lot, but the LRS gaijin rule means moving either Gustavo Rivera or Carlos Cavazos to make a slot for him.

In addition to the trade market, Collins sent feelers to several U.S. teams to inquire about utilizing the transfer rules.  This process requires players to pass through PEBA waives to be eligible for contract purchase by LRS teams.  The Transmitters reach an equitable arrangement with the Duluth franchise that will net them Harumi Yamamoto, but the Tempe organization intercedes by claiming Yamamoto before the deal could be concluded.  Collins later follows up with Tempe’s GM to see if they would be interested in the transfer, but the Knights are happy to keep Yamamoto.

With formal free agency season nearing, three other actions have occurred.  First, starting pitcher Hisashi Oike announced his retirement.  This doesn’t surprise Collins or the team too much, though it’s irksome to hear rumors of Oike’s agent exploring options in U.S. baseball.  Second, according to plan, the team submits Sakutaro Otsuka as its Juuki.  Otsuka is not particularly enamored of the news, but he accepts the position as the rulebook provides he should.  “Sakutaro is a pro,” Collins said.  “He’ll be our guy next year.  Count on it.”  Finally, the team comes to terms with Kuemon Kiyomizu, who sings a one-year extension for $3.7M, a shade under the cap Collins and the team had set during earlier planning.

December 1 – RULE 5 DRAFT

The Kawaguchi front office gathers three days prior to the Rule 5 draft and pours over eligible players.  They are, of course, looking for shortstops, starters, and centerfielders, but these are in short supply.  In addition, the team looks for Japanese catchers – which are such a rare commodity that the team was forced to press Kotaro Mizuno into action after dealing Yujiro Ando at last season’s trade deadline.

Most players, however, are available for a reason.  The team finds a pair of options they think can help them, but one nuance of the Rule 5 draft is that selected players must stay on the big league roster all year (barring injury, trade or waiver claim).  So the management team settles on one player to whom they are willing to dedicate a position.

That player is the one and only Eitoku Yamada, the onetime $16M man whose production dropped off the face of the earth almost immediately after signing one of the most lucrative contracts in LRS history.  He was traded from Shin Seiki to Seoul, then ingloriously released in mid-2013.  Shin Seiki had reclaimed him from the trash heap, but he is clearly a shell of the player he was despite being only 31 years old.  Collins and the Kawaguchi management team decided that Yamada could still play fair defense, and his legs seemed as good as ever.  They needed a consistent 5^th outfielder, so there was little to lose in taking a flier with him.

That decided, the team submitted their one Rule 5 draft pick.  On December 1^st, Yamada became a Transmitter.

December 3 – ARBITRATION HEARINGS

The team offered minor league free agent Kagehisa Daisen arbitration at $70K for next season.  At 26, Daisen is still young and has provided fair numbers at AAA for some time.  With luck, he’ll not see the Transmitters’ active roster, but the management team saw him as depth in case of injury and worth the investment.  Daisen’s agent submitted a six-digit filing.  The arbiter went with $79K.  Collins called Daisen to welcome him back to the Transmitters fold.

Kawaguchi also offered arbitration to veteran relief pitcher Takayuki Ogawa, but was turned down.  This action will ensure Kawaguchi receives a draft pick if Ogawa is signed by another LRS team.

December 6 – FREE AGENCY FILING DAY

Ogawa, left fielder Yoshihide Suzuki, and bullpen man Yoshihiro Harada all filed for free agency.  “We liked all three of them and hoped we could extend their contracts,” Collins told TransmitterTalk.com, “but they wanted to see what they were worth on the free market.  I completely respect their rights to do that, and we’ll pursue them as we would any other talent.”

That said, it’s clear that Collins is annoyed with Suzuki’s decision.  His departure leaves the club with a hole in left field a year or so before they are prepared to fill it through their minor league system.  Word is that the 31-year-old outfielder is going to ask for upward of $10M a year for four seasons.  “I have to wonder what his agent is telling him,” Collins said at one point.  “Does he realize he’s not even the best Suzuki on the market?”

SUMMARY TO DATE

Despite coming up empty in the trade market, the management team is happy with their position going into the Winter Meetings.  They’ve got their payroll under some control and are beginning to nudge a few free agents.  Collins holds one more team session to make last-minute preparations.  They decide that both Rivera and Cavazos would be candidates to move if the reward was great enough, and Collins makes that fact known to other organizations.

Then it’s time.  Collins and a large part of the management team head to the airport to attend what may end up being one of the more important Winter Meetings in team history.