Blue Jays sign Shun Yamaguchi from the NPB to a 2 year contract

[Ray]

[Spanky99]

OK then.

 

What are the company shills saying?

 

This seems to be a decent signing bro...

 

[Spanky99]

Is this the first player the Jays have ever signed out of Korea or Japan?

 

I believe so.

[Laika]

Interesting note from an article on him.

 

Japanese baseball officials declined to give out the Sawamura Award for the league's top pitcher this year -- no pitcher was deemed worthy of the award

 

Imagine if everybody was so mediocre that MLB just decided not to give out the Cy Young? They honestly should!

[BTS]

Looks like he's been primarily used as a starter since 2014. His last two seasons were 156 and then 181 innings.

[Krylian]

Is this the first player the Jays have ever signed out of Korea or Japan?

 

They Jays signed Korean born Dong Won Choi in 1981.

[Spanky99]

 

Welp... was just on Writers Bloc, said he doubts Toronto gets Ryu although their trying, and will end up with Teheran. That's depressing, lol.

[Terminator]

 

Welp...

 

That is so bad lol

[Ray]

That is so bad lol

 

We threw 36 year old Edwin Jackson out there for 8 starts last season

 

Let's count our blessings here

[Spanky99]

They Jays signed Korean born Dong Won Choi in 1981.

 

lol... poor guy never lived his dream.

 

Toronto Blue Jays

After the impressive performances at the 1981 Intercontinental Cup in Canada, the Toronto Blue Jays showed a strong interest in Choi, regarding him as having the potential to play in the big league immediately.[1]

 

The Blue Jays' scouts went to see Choi six times before signing him to a major league contract reportedly worth around $250,000. Meanwhile, South Korea was in the process of forming its own professional baseball league. When the government discovered Choi was heading to Toronto, it threatened to jail the scouts if they tried to leave the country with the contract.[6]

 

The Blue Jays planned on bringing Choi to Blue Jays' spring training for the 1983 season, but the government intervened again.[6]

 

Choi was given a choice: Serve a mandatory military commitment before going to Canada, or pitch in the Korean professional league and have his military service waived. Choi eventually opted for the latter,[6] declaring for the KBO Draft after the 1982 Amateur World Series.

[Spanky99]

We threw 36 year old Edwin Jackson out there for 8 starts last season

 

Let's count our blessings here

 

Yeah, last year was a shitshow.

[Bobthe4th]

That is so bad lol

 

TBF the rotation will look very different in a year or two. Roark and Anderson are just placeholder innings eaters until we know which prospects will stick, Shoemaker will get injured, and Shun will likely end up as an opener / reliever.

[Amok]

The Jays are rolling the dice on Yamguchi, maybe it will work out and they find will find a 4th starter. If it doesn't it will not cost an arm and a leg.

 

Cards are also signing Kwang-Hyun Kim on the same day. It is 2 years 8 million, but he is 30 and throws a little harder.

[glory]

[Orgfiller]

The Jays are rolling the dice on Yamguchi, maybe it will work out and they find will find a 4th starter. If it doesn't it will not cost an arm and a leg.

 

Cards are also signing Kwang-Hyun Kim on the same day. It is 2 years 8 million, but he is 30 and throws a little harder.

 

31 actually, they were born almost exactly a year apart.

[Grant77]

I've seen some call the splitter a forkball. I can't remember anyone throwing that since Tom Henke.

[Terminator]

We threw 36 year old Edwin Jackson out there for 8 starts last season

 

Let's count our blessings here

 

And that rotation was better entering the year than this one as currently constructed.

 

There is still definitely time to improve it, it's just a shock to the conscience to see our "ace" projected to have a 5.16 ERA.

[Krylian]

 

Welp... was just on Writers Bloc, said he doubts Toronto gets Ryu although their trying, and will end up with Teheran. That's depressing, lol.

 

That's about as expected. Another Top 5 pick in 2021.

[glory]

TBF the rotation will look very different in a year or two. Roark and Anderson are just placeholder innings eaters until we know which prospects will stick, Shoemaker will get injured, and Shun will likely end up as an opener / reliever.

 

Yeah whether the Jays sign Ryu or not, it seems like the main storyline(s) for 2020 will be integrating Pearson into the rotation, and seeing who else from the hoard of AAA SP prospects can make it as starters in the bigs. Anderson and Roark are being paid to eat up average innings. If we sign Ryu then at least there’s a real difference maker in the rotation but if he signs elsewhere as I suspect he will, then it’s going to be a rotation full of vet innings eaters until the kids come up, imo.

[TheHurl]

He calls his forkball the Shun Gun. How can you not love the guy.

 

It's not true but it should be a thing. I know nothing about him but his numbers but it looks promising.

[SaskJaysFan_2]

He calls his forkball the Shun Gun. How can you not love the guy.

 

It's not true but it should be a thing. I know nothing about him but his numbers but it looks promising.

 

I like this signing. Maybe not related, but I bet this is it for SP signings this off season.

[Orgfiller]

 

Welp... was just on Writers Bloc, said he doubts Toronto gets Ryu although their trying, and will end up with Teheran. That's depressing, lol.

 

What is Writers Bloc and who said this?

[TheHurl]

I like this signing. Maybe not related, but I bet this is it for SP signings this off season.

 

I don't think you are wrong. I think they will run with what they have and re-evaluate mid-season. I think they add a bat and mainly keep talking trades.

[Orgfiller]

I've seen some call the splitter a forkball. I can't remember anyone throwing that since Tom Henke.

 

If the pitcher is Japenese and he throws some variation of the pitch there's like a 35% chance it's a forkball just because, even if there's no discernible difference in grip and movement.

[FrozenRopes]

The rotation posted above is horrible on paper. On the mound, probably horrible.

 

Hoping for lightning in a bottle from 4 of your 5 starters is not a good look.

[Terminator]

I don't think you are wrong. I think they will run with what they have and re-evaluate mid-season. I think they add a bat and mainly keep talking trades.

 

Gotta love running a Rays-like payroll when the projected Opening Day rotation projects to be about 5 WAR total and not a single pitcher is projected to crack a 5 ERA.

[Abomination]

I've seen some call the splitter a forkball. I can't remember anyone throwing that since Tom Henke.

 

Clemens threw a splitter.

[Spanky99]

The rotation posted above is horrible on paper. On the mound, probably horrible.

 

Hoping for lightning in a bottle from 4 of your 5 starters is not a good look.

 

Plus the line behind them, at least this year we have depth you want to see. The rotation can't be final, though! f*** that!

[Spanky99]

I've seen some call the splitter a forkball. I can't remember anyone throwing that since Tom Henke.

 

Forkball is far more exaggerated then the splitter, at less speed and more movement.

[Spanky99]

I've seen some call the splitter a forkball. I can't remember anyone throwing that since Tom Henke.

 

Morris.