Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Nats Sign Lefty Maekawa

The Nationals today signed Japanese lefthander Katsuhiko Maekawa to a minor league deal. He was banned from the Japanese leagues and didn't play a single game in '07 because he was accused of involvement in a hit-and-run accident. Another troubled guy. Joy. Oh, and by the way, he had a 5.26 ERA in JAPAN in '06. Remember how good Dice-K was in Japan? And how much worse he is here? Well, tack that inflation on to Maekawa. Wow. I'm thinking an ERA in the mid-nines.

The Padres claimed pitcher Enrique Gonzalez off waivers from the Nats. He never appeared in a game for them and was atrocious for the Diamondback a few years back. Good riddance. However, some commenters on Svrluga's blog were quite unhappy about this one (same link as above.)

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Rauch Avoids Arb.

The Nats and Jon Rauch agreed to a two-year deal worth $3.2 million today. There is also a club option for 2010 in there. I think this is a very good deal. Rauch has proved for the last two years that he is a reliable pitcher in the late innings of a ballgame. He will receive $1 million this year and $2.2 mil in '09. The option is worth $2.9 million, and must be exercised within five days of the end of the 2008 World Series. So we'll know pretty soon just how long the deal will be. He led the Nats last year with eight victories. Wow. Nice job by the Nats and Rauch to avoid going to arbitration. This was Rauch's first year that he was eligible for arb, so assuming the option is exercised, the deal won't buy out any Free Agency.