New York Yankees left-handing pitching target Yusei Kikuchi will be posted on Tuesday morning. Let the real fun of the hot stove season begin.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages … are you ready? Baseball’s real fun is coming shortly.
Left-handed Japanese pitching prospect Yusei Kikuchi will post on Tuesday morning.
Kikuchi, 27, will have the legal ability to begin negotiating with MLB teams at 8 a.m. ET on Dec. 4, 2018. As per baseball’s guidelines, the Seibu Lions, Kikuchi’s current (soon-to-be former team), has agreed to post him. This means the lefty has until 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 2, 2019 to sign with a major league club.
Of course, one of the many clubs rumored to hold an interest in the lefty is the New York Yankees.
ESNY’s own Josh Benjamin hit on the topic recently. Don’t confuse Brian Cashman’s silence on the topic as non-interest.
With Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka and James Paxton topping the starting rotation, it’s evident more work should be targeted. Adding a potential addition left-handed pitcher on top of the newly-acquired Paxton could work out at Yankee Stadium.
Should Cashman bite, he’ll have to pay. The Lions posting fee will be determined by the dollar number on his contract.
Whichever MLB team wins the sweepstakes will be forced to dish out 20 percent of the first guaranteed $25 million, 17.5 percent of the amount between $25,000,001 and $50 million, and 15 percent of everything surpassing $50 million.
He doesn’t come as highly-regarded as Daisuke Matsuzaka, Yu Darvish or the aforementioned Tanaka, but a quality starter is hard to come by.
Stay tuned. Tuesday could be a news-filled Bronx Bombers day.
