Braves to bid on Japanese Pitcher?

No, no...it's not what you're thinking. The Braves definitely do not seem to be in the running for Daisuke Matsuzaka. However, according to Mr. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Braves seem to be interested in southpaw Kei Igawa, of the Hanshin Tigers. Even though he is rumored to be heading for the West Coast, Igawa, or "Iron Nerves", as he is known in Japan, could be a very interesting proposition for Atlanta.

Igawa went 14-9 with a 2.97 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in the Central League this past season. He also struck out 194 in 209 innings pitched. Using Jim Albright's Method for translating Japanese Stats to the Majors, these are roughly equivalent to 172 Strikeouts, 59 Walks, and 194 Hits. This puts his adjusted WHIP at 1.21. He also threw an average of 115 pitches a start.

As soon as I can locate some Home Run Data for Igawa, we can do some ERC calculations to further look at his possible effects overseas.

Now, as is obvious to any Braves fan, the team has an abundance of starters.

1. Smoltz
2. Hudson
3. Hampton
4. James
5. Ramirez/Davies

There is already a logjam at the back end of rotation. Hudson and Hampton are virtually immovable because of their large contracts, and James was too impressive in his stint last year (11-4, 91 Ks, 116 ERA+) to consider trading. Davies was abysmal last year, but he is still young and has at times showed great promise. This leaves Ramirez as the most likely trade candidate, although when healthy (a rare occurrence in recent years) he too has been decent. An acquisition of Igawa would necessitate that Atlanta displace two starters from the rotation, a feat easier said than done at the present time. More to come soon...