Toritani signing?

[SAAviour]

@bluejayhotstove: For what it's worth, Japanese media are reporting the Jays are working on a 3yr/10 mil deal with Takashi Toritani.

 

@AndrewStoeten: New at http://t.co/AQ8cw0y2ED: Japanese Media Not Saying Jays Have Signed Toritani, But They Are Saying Something http://t.co/JcrV5Adv99

 

Is this guy any good? No real sources.

Best part of signing could be that we dealt with boras.

[Chappy]

1.2 billion yen!!

[jays4life19]

That's the Boras guy, right?

[sdyment]

Some info...

http://andrewstoeten.com/2014/12/10/jays-have-interest-japanese-infielder-but-not-the-one-you-think/

[Chappy]

Another good OBP guy who would be good at the bottom of the order.

[READERsince2006]

Him vs righties and one of izturis, tolleson, valencia vs lefties

[GreekFatAss]

From what I was reading, he plays good defense too and has played some 3B as well. So worst case scenario he can be a Goins like player with the defense and versatility with the added bonus of being able to draw good long AB's, even if he still can't hit major league pitching.

[wardhenke1]

So Jed Lowrie is not a possibility then? Better to sign an unknown Japanese fill-in for a third of the price of a proven major leaguer. f*** right off. f***. Right. Off. ******** signing if true.

[wardhenke1]

Beginning to think that Boras was right about our ownership. And I f***ing hate Boras.

 

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/boras-rips-blue-jays-five-year-contract-policy/

[GreekFatAss]

I don't see what there is to be mad about if true. There is upside in Toritani if he can even post a .700 OPS with a high OBP mark with his good defense and flexibility.

[wardhenke1]

I don't see what there is to be mad about if true. There is upside in Toritani if he can even post a .700 OPS with a high OBP mark with his good defense and flexibility.

 

I don't know who this tortilla guy is and I don't f***ing care. There are better options out there right now on the market and the money and contract length for them would not be obscence. $30m for 3 years for Lowrie and we are turning away? ********.

[guylaroche5]

So Jed Lowrie is not a possibility then? Better to sign an unknown Japanese fill-in for a third of the price of a proven major leaguer. f*** right off. f***. Right. Off. ******** signing if true.

 

http://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/25211145.jpg

 

you need to mellow out brother

[dineke]

So we're getting the next Ichiro? Cool.

[Abomination]

I like it. Hes a better hitter than Kawasaki. Fill 2B until Travis and then be utility infielder.

 

Yeah, I agree. Honestly, if he even hits a little better than Kawasaki and is a better defender at SS and 3rd, then he seems to be a pretty valuable bench piece with the possibility for more.

[Stangstag]

So Jed Lowrie is not a possibility then? Better to sign an unknown Japanese fill-in for a third of the price of a proven major leaguer. f*** right off. f***. Right. Off. ******** signing if true.

 

Jesus dude you need help

[GreekFatAss]

I just love the fact that we could retain most of Goins defense without the Goins bat. Hell, even if he is only a 1 WAR bench player who can play all infield positions its a big upgrade for us. Sure beats throwing out negative value solutions on the field.

[labadee]

That's the Boras guy, right?

 

that's the one

[labadee]

I like it. Hes a better hitter than Kawasaki. Fill 2B until Travis and then be utility infielder.

 

is he as loveable?

[TwistedLogic]

I've always loved the idea of trying to find hidden value from the international market. The Mariners got an absolute steal in Iwakuma in the same way, another under-the-radar'ish guy from the Japanese market that didn't receive nearly as much fanfare as he should have based on how he turned out.

 

On a 3/10 deal, that's a lot of upside for a very low risk. He's relatively old, but players from Asian markets that have come over to the Majors have a pretty decent history of aging gracefully (Kuroda, Iwakuma, Ichiro, etc)

[LongTimeReader]

I don't know what to make of this other than the guy appears to be an on-base machine

[wardhenke1]

Ok, you're all correct. He's the new [fill-in-blank-here]. Good move AA. I stand corrected.

 

http://img.pandawhale.com/post-33707-nothing-to-see-here-gif-please-BeZM.gif

[Laika]

The articles from Japan make it pretty clear that Toritani isn't interested in coming over unless he can be guaranteed a starting gig.

 

I think there's a price where he'd be a great flyer fill in. He really shouldn't cost that much given his age and lack of great tools. I'd give him 1 year and a chance to start out of the gate but I wouldn't give him 3 years.

 

Guys like Nakajima and Nishioka were similar / better hitters in Japan, at younger ages coming over, and they flopped entirely. Doesn't mean much but it's enough for me to think that anything more than a 1 year shot would be dumb.

[Scion]

I don't know who this tortilla guy is and I don't f***ing care. There are better options out there right now on the market and the money and contract length for them would not be obscence. $30m for 3 years for Lowrie and we are turning away? ********.

 

You don't know who Toritani is, and yet you are both convinced that this is a bad signing, and that there are better options available? Yeah... Yer dumb!

[jays4life19]

The articles from Japan make it pretty clear that Toritani isn't interested in coming over unless he can be guaranteed a starting gig.

 

I think there's a price where he'd be a great flyer fill in. He really shouldn't cost that much given his age and lack of great tools. I'd give him 1 year and a chance to start out of the gate but I wouldn't give him 3 years.

 

Guys like Nakajima and Nishioka were similar / better hitters in Japan, at younger ages coming over, and they flopped entirely. Doesn't mean much but it's enough for me to think that anything more than a 1 year shot would be dumb.

 

I agree with this. 3 years seems a bit much. 1 year bridge to Travis makes a ton of sense though.

[wardhenke1]

You don't know who Toritani is, and yet you are both convinced that this is a bad signing, and that there are better options available? Yeah... Yer dumb!

 

So just to be clear, you're saying that a 33 year old Japanese player who has apparently been playing for 11 years and had over 5500 at bats is a real "find" and that he trumps anyone else currently on the market, such as a Jed Lowrie? And who here had even heard of this guy until his name emerged in the last 48 hours? And yet we can't make any assumptions about what he might bring to the table over a proven major leaguer?

 

Wow. Just....wow.

[labadee]

man he's old. but whatever, if it's an upgrade at 2b, i think we'll all take it. does this spell the end to kawa 100%?

[GD]

So just to be clear, you're saying that a 33 year old Japanese player who has apparently been playing for 11 years and had over 5500 at bats is a real "find" and that he trumps anyone else currently on the market, such as a Jed Lowrie? And who here had even heard of this guy until his name emerged in the last 48 hours? And yet we can't make any assumptions about what he might bring to the table over a proven major leaguer?

 

Wow. Just....wow.

 

holy s***, lol

[Scion]

I just love the fact that we could retain most of Goins defense without the Goins bat. Hell, even if he is only a 1 WAR bench player who can play all infield positions its a big upgrade for us. Sure beats throwing out negative value solutions on the field.

 

That is far from a fact, we really don't know what kind of defense Toritani can provide until he proves it at the big league level for a prolonged period of time. That said, given his age (34), I wouldn't bet on his defense being a positive asset.

[intentional wok]

I could live with this, though, like some other moves this offseason, only if the money saved from avoiding a current MLB player contract is allocated to other areas of need.

[King]

Ward Henke is f***ing pissed. ROFL!