Right-hander Kona Takahashi might be back on the major league radar this offseason, writes Michael Clair of MLB.com. Clair notes that the 29-year-old is eligible for international free agency this winter.
A Japanese-language report from Nikkan Sports earlier this week suggested that Takahashi was inclined to explore MLB opportunities. It’d be the righty’s second straight year doing so. A career-long member of the Seibu Lions in his home country, Takahashi requested and was granted the right to speak with MLB teams last offseason via the posting system. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported that Takahashi declined major league offers from three teams to remain with Seibu for another season.
NPB players need to surpass nine years of service time to be eligible for international free agency. That allows them to make the jump to MLB without any kind of compensation to their former team. Most NPB clubs are willing to make star players who want to play stateside available via posting after their eighth year. That’d entitle them to a fee from the MLB signing team, which is proportional to the size of the contract value.
Takahashi, who’ll be entering his age-30 season, isn’t likely to command a huge contract. He has a strong track record in Japan but has never had high-octane stuff. Takahashi has a career 17.5% strikeout rate in NPB, roughly five points below the major league average. He ticked that up to a personal-best 20.7% across 22 starts this season, pitching to a 2.54 ERA over 138 1/3 frames. It also came with a slight increase in walks, though Takahashi’s 8.5% walk percentage is fine for a back-end starter or swingman. He induced ground-balls at a career-high 58.5% clip, with Clair writing that he pushed up his sinker usage this season at the expense of his curveball.
At this time last year, James Fegan and Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs wrote that Takahashi projected as a potential fifth starter at the MLB level. They grouped him with Foster Griffin and Anthony Kay, two former big leaguers who did indeed return to the majors. Griffin outperformed that projection and pitched at a mid-rotation level between the Nationals and Guardians. Kay was essentially a fifth starter for the White Sox. Clair’s report cites a scout who feels Takahashi projects better in the bullpen.
Takahashi is one of a few players who could make the move from NPB this winter. Third baseman Teruaki Sato and pitchers Kaima Taira and Hiromi Itoh are expected to be posted.
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