Cubs, Mariners Interested In Hiroki Kuroda
The Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan had some information regarding Japanese starter Hiroki Kuroda in his column yesterday. Apparently the Cubs and Mariners are leading the pack for his services, should he choose to opt out of his contract. According to Sullivan, Kuroda signed a four-year, $10.4MM deal with the Hiroshima Carps last winter. He would have no problems getting three years, $12MM over here.
Kuroda, a 32 year-old righty, won the Central League ERA title in '06 with a 1.85 mark. That ballooned to 3.56 this year as the command master saw his home run and hit rates rise. Kuroda could be very successful in the NL Central. If my guess on his price tag is correct, he could be one of few free agent bargains this winter.
This would be a good move for the Cubs considering they don't have a very strong rotation which showed up in the playoffs. Lou has said he wants another starting pitcher and this guy would really help the rotation. He would be a solid #5 starter and decent #4. Adding him to the rotation of Z, Lilly, and Hill and let Marquis, Marshall, Prior, Hart, and Gallagher fight for the 5th spot in the rotation would be ideal. Here is a link to his stats-
http://www.japaneseballplayers.com/en/player.php?id=hkuroda
and here is some video of him-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cekkzbHot_I
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Regardless what the Cubs do this off season in my opinion they need Kenny Lofton. With Pie not being ready to hit ML pitching and Jones good defense but ok hitting and no RF why not sign Lofton. This guy is clutch in the playoffs and with RISP. He is familiar with Wrigley, good clubhouse guy, and adds some speed to your lineup. Lou said he wants get some players in the club who can manufacture runs and do things the right way. Lofton would be one of those guys. Here a link to his stats-
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/playerStats?categoryId=85057
Career .299 hitter, 10 homers a year, .372 OBP, low SO and good BB. Why not get this guy???? Its a no brainer at 6 million a year.
3 comments:
Been there done that. Lofton was good when he was with the Cubs in 03' and is still a good player now. But in my opinion give Felix the full time job in center and let him get comfortable out there. If they keep sending him down and calling him up its just gonna f*ck with the guys head, example: Corey Patterson.
Good point. I want Pie to succed. His defense is great.. lets hope the bat comes around.
I actually like the Lofton idea. He continues to show his agelessness in postseason play.
I disagree with the poster who wants to just hand Felix the CF job. Dont get me wrong... I want the kid to succeed and he will one day, but right now I feel like the Cubs are in a position to take the next step from just getting into the playoffs to winning the WS. Let Pie get a few more ABs down in AAA or be a defensive replacement. I think it would be great to see Lofton and Jones switch off in CF and RF the way Lofton had played LF and CF for the Indians. I dont think the Cubs will mess up on Pie like they did with C Patt. The kid just needs to learn to hit major league breakin balls and be patient at the plate. Lets go win a WS next year and then let Pie learn on the job in 09.
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