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With the Tyler Glasnow commerce now finalized and Ryan Pepiot part of the Rays’ pitching combine, the workforce is constant to search for pitching assist. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times studies that “the Rays have some curiosity in” Naoyuki Uwasawa, whose 45-day posting window is up on January 11.
Tampa turns into the seventh MLB workforce recognized to have some degree of curiosity within the right-hander, as a Sports activities Hochi report (Japanese language link) in September revealed that the Angels, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Rangers, Reds, and Royals all had scouts watching considered one of Uwasawa’s begins for the Nippon Ham-Fighters. It’s in all probability secure to imagine much more groups have some degree of curiosity in Uwasawa because of each his monitor report in Nippon Skilled Baseball, and the truth that he may need a comparatively low price ticket compared to many different free agent pitchers available on the market.
Uwasawa (who turns 30 in February) had a 3.19 ERA over 1118 1/3 profession innings in NPB, all with the Fighters from 2014-2023. Although it took a number of years for the righty to totally set up himself on the Fighters’ roster, Uwasawa’s outcomes have at all times been fairly stable, and his 2.96 ERA over 170 innings in 2023 represented a profession greatest. Uwasawa is a three-time NPB All-Star, together with a nod this previous season.
The 2 huge knocks towards Uwasawa from a Main League scouting perspective are his lack of strikeouts (19.67% strikeout price) and an absence of velocity. Uwasawa’s common fastball clocked in at round 90.8mph in 2023, in response to MLBTR’s Dai Takegami Podziewski in the September edition of the NPB Gamers To Watch characteristic. Whereas Uwasawa has stable management and clearly his contact-heavy method has led to nice success in Japan, whether or not or not his stuff will be capable to idiot MLB hitters over the long run is definitely a query entrance places of work are asking themselves as they take into account presents.
The Rays have a protracted historical past of serving to pitchers both obtain new ranges of success or flip their careers round fully, so one would think about they may very well be a very stable touchdown spot for a pitcher making the transition from NPB to MLB. Tampa Bay doesn’t have a prolonged historical past with Japanese pitchers or the posting system usually, but broadly, any intriguing participant who represents one thing of a cut price signing would enchantment to a Rays workforce that’s at all times trying to preserve a restricted payroll.
Signing Uwasawa would price the Rays or any MLB workforce an extra posting payment to the Fighters, on high of no matter Uwasawa himself would earn in a contract. The Fighters’ launch payment can be price 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, 17.5% of the deal’s subsequent $25MM, after which 15% of any cash past $50MM. If Uwasawa doesn’t conform to a Main League contract by the top of his 45-day posting window, he would return to the Fighters for the 2024 NPB season.
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