Yusei Kikuchi nearing an agreement with the Seattle Mariners

[Angel Oracle]

1 hour ago, Blarg said:

SNL. 

 

We need to get Turd Furgeson’s thoughts on it.

[Tank]

5 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

Ms felt the reward was worth the risk.   JD has an idea of what he's trying to do and Kikuchi fits in...that's all she wrote.   

#poorkukuchi

[Docwaukee]

three's company.  

[Pujols4MVP]

So Dipoto got his consolation prize after losing out on Ohtani.

Hope Kikuchi enjoys the 100+ loss Mariners next season.

[eligrba]

14 hours ago, Lou said:

EVERYBODY SHUT UP!!!

Happy New Year and . . . 

She is obviously excited showing her Alabama diploma, after spell check.

[angelsnationtalk]

Seattle is trying to compete in 2020-2021 (so they say), and the Angels look to be pretty darn good around that time as well. What if it got into a bidding war and Eppler used a strategy to force his contract higher so Dipoto would bite on the price to woo him away from the Angels and then Eppler simply smiled and dropped out? Kikuchi is thought to be a number 3 or 4 guy from the reports i've seen. That's a big price for someone who doesn't have elite stuff and shoulder issues.

Maybe it was just a way of Eppler knowing Dipoto was going to do everything he could to pry him away from the Angels so Eppler just played the game and made the price rise..... Think about it

[Inside Pitch]

4 minutes ago, angelsnationtalk said:

Seattle is trying to compete in 2020-2021 (so they say), and the Angels look to be pretty darn good around that time as well. What if it got into a bidding war and Eppler used a strategy to force his contract higher so Dipoto would bite on the price to woo him away from the Angels and then Eppler simply smiled and dropped out? Kikuchi is thought to be a number 3 or 4 guy from the reports i've seen. That's a big price for someone who doesn't have elite stuff and shoulder issues.

Maybe it was just a way of Eppler knowing Dipoto was going to do everything he could to pry him away from the Angels so Eppler just played the game and made the price rise..... Think about it

I don't think that sort of gamesmanship happens outside of maybe Boston and NY.   Dipoto wanted Kikuchi, he paid to get him.   Kikuchi kills two birds with one stone for the M's -- they needed something to get excited about after selling off most of their team and the dude should be a part of their rebuild providing he plays to his mid rotation billing. 

[angelsnationtalk]

5 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

I don't think that sort of gamesmanship happens outside of maybe Boston and NY.   Dipoto wanted Kikuchi, he paid to get him.   Kikuchi kills two birds with one stone for the M's -- they needed something to get excited about after selling off most of their team and the dude should be a part of their rebuild providing he plays to his mid rotation billing. 

Eppler is from the NY Yankees so maybe.... Always an interesting thought.

That's true. Mariners are always a good fit for Japanese players. They have this history so it's attractive. But aside from the rebuild, they have some serious internal issues that he's about to see. Clubhouse scrums and racist reports from FO... Welcome to the Mariners!

[Inside Pitch]

12 minutes ago, angelsnationtalk said:

Eppler is from the NY Yankees so maybe.... Always an interesting thought.

That's true. Mariners are always a good fit for Japanese players. They have this history so it's attractive. But aside from the rebuild, they have some serious internal issues that he's about to see. Clubhouse scrums and racist reports from FO... Welcome to the Mariners!

He is -- but I think Jeff Fletcher has gone on record that Dipoto and Eppler get along well/are friends.   I think there is far more animosity between the two fan bases than there is between those two.

[Cdaniel]

15 hours ago, Dochalo said:

actually, it would say Therapist.  or The Rapist.  

can you name the sitcom?  

arrested development?

[Docwaukee]

13 minutes ago, Cdaniel said:

arrested development?

three's company.  

[Chuck]

From Rotoworld:

The Mariners plan to slightly limit Yusei Kikuchi's overall workload in his first year as a major leaguer.

That plan helped sell Kikuchi on the rebuilding Mariners, he and agent Scott Boras told the media at Thursday's introductory press conference in Seattle. The $56 million guarantee probably didn't hurt either. Kikuchi will still make around 30-plus starts, but some of them will be shorter -- every fifth outing might last just a few innings. It's to accumulate him from the usual pitching schedule in Japan, which only calls starters to pitch every 6-7 days. Kikuchi should still be a strong fantasy option as a rookie given the upside he showed in Nippon Professional Baseball. 30-plus starts is workhorse territory these days.

 

 

Source: Greg Johns on Twitter