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Earlier in the month, we took a look at Masahiro Tanaka and the Giants. Earlier today, the idea of Jose Abreu came up. It's not that the regular free agents this offseason are boring; it's that they're known quantities. A free agent who hasn't even played in the majors yet, why, they could be anything. ANYTHING.
Add a new name to the pile.
#sfgiants have never really been out of foreign market, but not whole-hog in. Now they are. Serious about Japan Ps Tanaka and Maeda.
— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) September 13, 2013
That would be Kenta Maeda, who was one of the top pitchers for Japan in the WBC. There's no word on if Maeda will even be posted. But the Giants will have a scout there until Pat Burrell is deported, apparently, and it isn't just for Tanaka.
It's a soft rumor, sure. The alternative is to talk about Clayton Kershaw.
Yeah, you're not so lippy now.
Some video:
The video doesn't quite jibe with this:
Scout: Kenta Maeda mixes pitches well, but he's at best a No. 4 starter in MLB. Sitting 88-90, topped out at 91, no plus secondary pitch.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 18, 2013
He topped out a little higher on the video, though that might have been a quick gun. And the curve and slider looked plus to me, but I'm just a guy who thought Kevin Frandsen was the shortstop of the future.
The obligatory stats:
Mighty impressive. Considering the run-scoring context, they kind of remind me of Hiroki Kuroda's stats in Japan, at least after considering the league run-scoring context for both pitchers.
You still have a Phil Hughes post to wade through. And a Josh Johnson post to wade through. The offseason isn't even here yet, and we're off. This is a name I hadn't heard in connection to the Giants yet. Now I have.
Ah, hell, sure. Why not? He could be anything. Like Greg Maddux without the halitosis. Anything.