Yusei Kikuchi countdown

[DMVol]

14 minutes ago, Second Base said:

.....Again, at least one front office believes that Kikuchi won't get as high of an offer as expected, and that the Angels are the front-runners. 

Thought it made a lot of sense for both parties since he was posted....

[Glen]

20 minutes ago, Second Base said:

There's some skepticism within at least one front office that Kikuchi has actually received competitive offers. It's known that the Angels have spoken with Boras and Kikuchi at least once, and there's some belief they've had several discussions, though that isn't grounded in anything but Kikuchi's schedule. 

Again, at least one front office believes that Kikuchi won't get as high of an offer as expected, and that the Angels are the front-runners. 

 

[angelsnationtalk]

1 hour ago, Second Base said:

There's some skepticism within at least one front office that Kikuchi has actually received competitive offers. It's known that the Angels have spoken with Boras and Kikuchi at least once, and there's some belief they've had several discussions, though that isn't grounded in anything but Kikuchi's schedule. 

Again, at least one front office believes that Kikuchi won't get as high of an offer as expected, and that the Angels are the front-runners. 

Is this the latest news?? 

[Stradling]

So when will he sign?  Seems weird he would sign/announce on New Years Day.  So today, tomorrow (I guess) or Wednesday morning?  Boras giving it a little time to see if anything shakes out?  He also represents Keuchel, so I would think those are the two best starters still available unless I am forgetting someone.  

Also, if we happen to see a trade of any kind from our major league roster we can assume it will be for prospects as our 40 man roster is full.  Also if we happen to see a Bedrosian trade or something similar we can probably assume it is because we are about to sign someone.  

[Docwaukee]

this whole thing is shaping up as kinda weird.  

I wonder if he ends up getting a Maeda type deal with a small base and heavy incentives.  

Maeda got 8/25.  1m of which was signing bonus.  then it's 1m for 15 starts, another 1m for 20 starts and then 1.5m each for 25, 30, and 32.  He also gets 250k for each ip threshold he reaches in increments of 10 from 90-190 and 750k for 200 ip.  He also got a 150k bonus for each time he makes the 25 man roster.  

When Maeda came to mlb, he had just finished his age 27 season and had thrown 1500+ innings for npb.  Kikuchi also just finished his age 27 season and he's thrown about 1000 ip.  

By all accounts, Maeda was actually more well thought of but the Dogs had to pay the $20m posting fee and now that the rules for that are different I could see some sort of hybrid where Kikuchi gets like 6/35m plus incentives.  

[Glen]

The phrase "incentive-laden contract" gives me a major stiffie.

[tdawg87]

Incentive-raden

[angelsnationtalk]

@Second Base can you clarify the “Angels are the front runners” comment? 

I’ve been frantically searching for Kikuchi information but there hasn’t been any updates. Which surprises me since his deadline in days away. 

[tdawg87]

9 minutes ago, angelsnationtalk said:

@Second Base can you clarify the “Angels are the front runners” comment? 

I’ve been frantically searching for Kikuchi information but there hasn’t been any updates. Which surprises me since his deadline in days away. 

His info is from his sources, so you likely won't find anything about it (and Scotty won't say who told him). 

I haven't seen anything regarding the Angels and Kikuchi, which probably bodes well for their chances honestly. 

[Docwaukee]

4 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

His info is from his sources, so you likely won't find anything about it (and Scotty won't say who told him). 

I haven't seen anything regarding the Angels and Kikuchi, which probably bodes well for their chances honestly. 

so true.  when I heard we were interested in Robertson, I was kinda bummed because I knew it wouldn't happen.  

[Second Base]

I will say this, it's someone that would know, but his organization isn't in a position to be chasing, though Kikuchi and Boras have made clear that it's not specifically a west coast thing. 

[Second Base]

2 hours ago, angelsnationtalk said:

@Second Base can you clarify the “Angels are the front runners” comment? 

I’ve been frantically searching for Kikuchi information but there hasn’t been any updates. Which surprises me since his deadline in days away. 

This information comes from a member of an organization that has chosen not to be involved in the Kikuchi bidding. He's just relaying what their front office believes. The bidding isn't as aggressive as some other international free agents, and they think if anyone has the inside track at signing him, circumstantially, it's the Angels. And there are a lot of reasons for this. They know the two sides have been in contact at least once, and while they've made it clear all teams are welcome to bid, there's still a belief that Kikuchi would prefer to stay out West. Then there's need, money and Japanese rapport to consider, all of which the Angels have.

In fact, I'll even go one further and say that many in the business believe Billy Eppler had more to do with the Ohtani signing than anything. There was a solid 5+ year period from about 2008 and beyond when Billy Eppler spent more time in Japan than any front office executive. The teams out there are well aware of who he is and he's built and fostered great connections and relationships. After signing Ohtani, Eppler didn't have to go to Japan. He's a major league executive, this all could have been done over the phone. But one of the things that's so special about Eppler (according to other sources) is how humble he is. You'd think as a member of the Yankees, he would've come in all high and mighty, but instead, when he spoke with Japanese teams, he asked questions and wanted to learn what they did and why. 

His willingnes to move to a six man rotation is no coincidence. His understanding of Japanese team building and preparation has been integrated into the Angels system. His hiring of Doug White and promoting Jeremy Reed all fit into what he saw in Japan. 

And there's a lot more back story here that I won't get into it, and a lot of it, I still don't know or understand. But there's every reason for other teams to believe the Angels may be favored in the Kikuchi negotiations. 

[Pancake Bear]

This looks strangely familiar - From Twitter:

[UndertheHalo]

I have zero expectation that the Angels will get Kikuchi. 

[Blarg]

On 12/29/2018 at 8:16 AM, Lou said:

won't you join us, Mr Kikuchi?

 

On 12/29/2018 at 8:29 AM, Stradling said:

Not that formal

[Stradling]

5 minutes ago, Blarg said:

 

Exactly this. 

[Lou]

is that a Panda Express?

racists 

[Inside Pitch]

5 hours ago, Stradling said:

So when will he sign?  Seems weird he would sign/announce on New Years Day.  So today, tomorrow (I guess) or Wednesday morning?  Boras giving it a little time to see if anything shakes out?  He also represents Keuchel, so I would think those are the two best starters still available unless I am forgetting someone.  

Also, if we happen to see a trade of any kind from our major league roster we can assume it will be for prospects as our 40 man roster is full.  Also if we happen to see a Bedrosian trade or something similar we can probably assume it is because we are about to sign someone.  

I believe Jan 2, is the cutoff.

[Inside Pitch]

1 hour ago, Second Base said:

In fact, I'll even go one further and say that many in the business believe Billy Eppler had more to do with the Ohtani signing than anything. There was a solid 5+ year period from about 2008 and beyond when Billy Eppler spent more time in Japan than any front office executive. The teams out there are well aware of who he is and he's built and fostered great connections and relationships. After signing Ohtani, Eppler didn't have to go to Japan. He's a major league executive, this all could have been done over the phone. But one of the things that's so special about Eppler (according to other sources) is how humble he is. You'd think as a member of the Yankees, he would've come in all high and mighty, but instead, when he spoke with Japanese teams, he asked questions and wanted to learn what they did and why. 

Among the things that have come out since the season ended -- Eppler met with Ohtani's father and sent his mom flowers -- both as a show of respect and courtesy.   Dude did a lot of little things that scored points aside from the baseball ends of things.

[Lou]

2 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

I believe Jan 2, is the cutoff.

2:00pm our time.

still

[Lou]

2 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

Among the things that have come out since the season ended -- Eppler met with Ohtani's father and sent his mom flowers -- both as a show of respect and courtesy.   Dude did a lot of little things that scored points aside from the baseball ends of things.

that's actually pretty cool. 

[Inside Pitch]

2 minutes ago, Lou said:

2:00pm our time.

still

I almost quoted you and typed ..  still.    LOL...

[Lou]

2 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

I almost quoted you and typed ..  still.    LOL...

at this point, you just have to assume that I'll add a smartass comment. 

[HaloMilliVanilli]

Not Panda.  

Burger King!

[Inside Pitch]

12 minutes ago, Lou said:

at this point, you just have to assume that I'll add a smartass comment. 

Indeed.   

You heard back on the whole 10 hours, 10 days thing? How soon before we start asking if its been 10 weeks yet?

Edited December 30, 2018 by Inside Pitch