With aces being snatched up on the open market, the Los Angeles Dodgers have finally added a starting pitcher of their own, reaching an agreement with right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma. Jim Bowden of ESPN first reported the signing, but other outlets said the deal was still pending. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports soon confirmed an agreement, which is believed to be for three years. The dollar amount hasn’t been announced.
Dodgers have a deal with iwakuma. Believed to be for 3 years.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 7, 2015
The Dodgers faced a serious hurdle this offseason to overcome the loss of Zack Greinke after he signed a mammoth six-year, $206 million deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. While Iwakuma isn’t quite the pitcher Greinke is (not many are), he’s a solid frontline veteran pitcher.
Iwakuma has had nothing but success since leaving Japan for MLB in 2012. Last year with the Seattle Mariners, he pitched to a 9-5 record with a 3.54 ERA (3.74 FIP)in 20 starts, while posting mostly identical strikeout and walk rates that he’s averaged throughout his career. He did miss over two months last year with a strained lat muscle, but ended the season strong — including throwing a no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles in mid-August.
The Dodgers rotation is starting to take shape. They still have ace Clayton Kershaw and Alex Wood pegged for next year’s rotation. The club re-signed Brett Anderson to a one-year contract after he accepted arbitration, Hyun-Jin Ryu should be back by season’s start after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery last year, and Brandon McCarthy is expected to return after the All-Star break following season-ending Tommy John surgery.
Iwakuma is a much-needed signing and softens the blow of Greinke bolting to the rival D-Backs. But even with several other expensive starters like Johnny Cueto, Scott Kazmir and Mike Leake still available in free agency (the team was reportedly the runner-up to the Giants for Jeff Samardzija), it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Dodgers pursue more pitching.
Those options include bullpen help too. The Dodgers are one of the clubs in talks with the Cincinnati Reds about a trade for closer Aroldis Chapman. As was the case at last year’s winter meetings, team president Andrew Friedman and general manager Farhan Zaidi could be busy this coming week in Nashville.
