The A’s bag Japanese star pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma’s negotiating rights
It seems Major League Baseball is going through some swift shuffling within its teams and the league’s structure. While Commissioner Bud Selig is looking for ways to expand the post season in the coming year, teams are looking
for ways to strengthen themselves for the coming season. Right before the spring training session starts off, there is the evident fact of the free agents’ market that has developed over the days in baseball. It is off-season and the San Francisco Giants were
crowned the World Series Champions. Now, that time to play baseball has passed, and it is an opportunity for clubs to strengthen themselves for the upcoming season.
The free agents market is studded with top quality players and it is highlighted by Cliff Lee, Derek Jeter, Carl Crawford, Jayson Werth, Adrian Beltre and Vladimir Guerrero. Majority of these players represent a good crux of the
wealth they hold in experience. It begs to be seen who will go where when the season ends soon, in the coming days. For now, teams are going in with the intent to cash in on viable options and with the right to exercise, long past; the time is here to plug
in holes that are left exposed to the others.
The Oakland Athletics have been on the verge of battling through to the playoffs in recent years and in the regular season they made their efforts count against the Texas Rangers, who dropped many points during the final days.
Nevertheless, management at the club is looking forward to the next season with great insight as the attention given to detail has arisen by a long margin. Recently, there has been an activity moving towards Japan and the target has been identified as Hisashi
Iwakuma.
The team has won the negotiating rights to the top pitcher and has 30 days to reach an agreement. The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles issued a statement just recently, regarding the development, saying, “The Oakland A's are excited
to have had our bid for Hisashi Iwakuma accepted by the Rakuten Golden Eagles. Out of respect for the posting process and for Mr. Iwakuma and his representative, we will not have any comment until the 30-day negotiation period comes to an end.”
The 29-year-old recorded 10 wins and 9 losses this season, ending the year’s campaign with an Earning Runs average of 2.82. The 10-year veteran was responsible for earning his country the World Baseball Classic title in 2009, as
his pitching paved the way for victory against Korea in the finals.
Tags: