While all of the usual suspects have been discussed ad nauseum to fill the perceived vacancy for both shortstop and the leadoff position for the 2014 NY Mets team, a recent perusal of a list compiled by NBC Sports of available free agents included a name many may not know – Takahashi Toritani of Japan’s Hanshin Tigers. Before you go all Kaz Matsui on me, hear me out.
As a college player he won the triple crown playing both
shortstop and pitcher (which would suggest his arm is above average). His skill with the bat saw him win 9 batting
awards during his 8 semesters of play during his college career leading Hanshin
to draft him early to play professional ball.
After a rocky rookie season that produced lackluster
results, the Tigers apparently saw enough in him to move .300 hitting All-Star
shortstop Atsushi Fujimoto to second base to create the vacancy at shortstop to
accommodate young Mr. Toritani. While
hardly stellar, he improved on his rookie campaign by hitting .278 with 9 HRs
and 52 RBIs.
Toritani’s track record is one of continual improvement
and adjustment. He continued as their
ironman at shortstop, setting a record at one point by appearing in 398
consecutive games. The offense came
around and by 2010 he posted 19 HRs, 104 RBIs and hit .301 while swiping 13
bases.
In 2011 Japan changed its baseball due to allegations of
juicing and power numbers were down across the board. Still, Toritani persevered and changed his
approach to the game, increasing his on base percentage to .395 that year and
this past season eclipsed .400. The
power returned again with 10 HRs and 65 RBIs to go along with his 15 SBs and
his 104 walks.
Defensively his is known for having excellent range and
arguably the best arm in the Japanese game.
However, he is somewhat error-prone, once having even led the league
with 21 miscues.
Offensively, website NOM Projections analyzes how Japanese players would transition to the majors and cites Toritani’s best comparable as a superior hitter to Yunel Escobar. That profile would pretty much put him on par with what the 8 figure/draft-pick-sacrificed Scott Boras client Stephen Drew would be expected to provide with the bat and he doesn’t have the injury baggage that Drew carries.
Offensively, website NOM Projections analyzes how Japanese players would transition to the majors and cites Toritani’s best comparable as a superior hitter to Yunel Escobar. That profile would pretty much put him on par with what the 8 figure/draft-pick-sacrificed Scott Boras client Stephen Drew would be expected to provide with the bat and he doesn’t have the injury baggage that Drew carries.
Toritani is now 32 years old and wishes to be posted for
a chance to play in the major leagues.
The financial commitment to him would likely be fairly small and you
could probably even get by with a one year deal with an option for another if
you wanted to test the strong shortstop free agent market in 2015. While Ruben Tejada is likely going to be able
to rebound to a respectable .280 or so average, it will come with no power, few
RBIs and no SBs while accompanied by a less-than-ideal OBP. Bringing someone like Toritani on board would
turn Tejada into the middle infield supersub – a role he’s more likely suited
to play long term.
There are conflicting reports out of Japan about his
availability. There’s a press release
from the Hanshin Tigers saying he is not going to be a free agent and there’s a
reiteration from the player that he is.
Of course, if Hanshin controls his freedom, then the point is moot, but
if he’s made available, would he be a good fit for the Mets? Have a look at his stats and decide for
yourself:
8 comments:
I have no idea how to translate Japan ball into MLB... I assume it's somewhere between A+ and AA
With the risk of getting stoned, how about Danny Muno, if this Japanese guy's #'s are in the equivalent of Hi A / AA?
Danny's last 75 games in AA, he socred 59 runs and had an on base % of .406, slugged about .440, and drove in (mostly leading off) 42 runs. Arbitrarily double that to 150 games, and you have a pace of 118 runs and 84 RBI.
His SS defense is not strong (21 errors in 87 games over 3 years) but the bat could compensate enough for this to pan out - and he'd be cheap, an Alderson infatuation.
Danny was just invited to big league camp, BTW - let's hope he comes in hitting the ground running.
And leaves his syringes at home.
The Mets need a veteran utility middle field infielder... perio
Not necessarily, Mack...in an ideal world they would obtain a shortstop who is also capable of leading off, thus making Ruben Tejada into the middle infielder backup.
I don't know...
I just haven't seen too many Asian regular day players being able to step into a starting MLB role...
Hey Reese, This isn't a bad idea. My understanding is that Takashi Toritani (Leave out the ha in his first name, the Mets shortstop situation is no laughing matter.) is an international free agent, and thus does not have to be posted by the Hanshin Tigers. ( http://notanotherbaseballblog.wordpress.com/2013/10/24/japanese-npb-players-most-likely-to-join-mlb-in-2014/)
The comp to Yunel Escobar is not far off. Based on his NPBL stats, I would guess he would be about a .260/.355/.380 hitter with more pop than Escobar, but not quite as much as Drew, (8-10 HR) and some more speed than both of them. With his high OBP he could be a leadoff hitter here in the states, although it seems he has been a more middle of the order hitter in Japan.
Mack - NPBL is a step higher than A+ - AA. Maybe between AA and AAA, although closer to AAA. As far as position players who made the transition, Ichiro and that other Matsui guy (Godzilla) did it pretty well. More recently, Norichika Aoki did it too.
Speaking of Aoki, I don't think this Toritani idea, as sound as it may be, will get any traction with the FO and I'll tell you why. Two years ago, right after the the Mets had traded Pagan for Andres Torres, I concluded that Aoki, who had just been posted by the Yakult Swallows, could be a major upgrade for the Mets. I emailed Alderson suggesting he bid on Aoki's rights, figuring he was one of the best hitters in NPBL and he could lead off for the Mets who had just lost their leadoff hitter. In one of the very few times Alderson has responded to an email of mine, he told me that he would not be bidding on Aoki. (In the same email, I had suggested that he sign Hisashi Iwakuma, and he did say he would take a look at Iwakuma, but of course, Iwakuma went to Seattle and was a runner up for last year's AL CY Award.) Anyway, I just got the idea that Alderson was not high on the idea of signing someone right out of Japan.
Herb - Obviously, I know about Ichiro and Matsui... that's the point... two players, maybe three (Aoki)in how many years?
Still, I do like the Toritani option, and if you're right about the Asian/Minor League comparison (what the heck do I know about the minors, right?) he could immediately start in Binghamton.
Post a Comment