Earlier this morning, news splashed from the usual suspects that the Orioles were closing in on a deal with a left-handed starter from Japan, Tsuyoshi Wada. He has just agreed to terms on a 2 year/$8.15M contract with the Orioles, a deal first reported by Jon Morosi of FOX Sports. The contract reportedly has a $5 million option for 2014.
Wada is a 30 year old who's been pitching for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in NPB. Wada made 26 starts for the Hawks, pitching to a 1.51 ERA over 184.2 IP in 2011, which averages out to a little over 7 innings per start. That includes 168 strikeouts against only 40 walks. Patrick Newman of Fangraphs sums up his pitching: "a 86-87mph fastball, a good circle change, and a solid slider."
He sounds like a crafty lefty junkballer type. Newman says this is a Dallas Braden-type but the prototypical pitcher in that mold to me is Jamie Moyer. Wada is not ancient, the deal is short and the dollar signs are not large. He gets the opportunity to come over and test himself against the best baseball players in the world and the Orioles hopefully end up with one fewer question mark in the starting rotation.
What do you think about this signing?