Hiroki Kuroda

[JohnBriggs12]

Even if the Brewers were to get a top flight young arm for Fielder, it's not certain that whoever this is would be ready to be the solid number 2 starter that is needed so desperately. Of all the FA pitchers out there not named Cliff Lee, to me the most intriguing and possibly best fit for the Brewers is Hiroki Kuroda. Now there's one caveat. Some say he's technically arby eligible while others list him as a FA to be. He made around $15 million this year and might command close to that per year as a FA.

 

Kuroda will be 36 next year, but he still throws 92-94. Because of his age, he probably won't command more than a 2 year plus an option contract. True he's pitched in Dodger stadium, but his numbers everywhere are pretty uniform and still good. Obviously, he won't come real cheap, but I'd take him over Vazquez.

[dadofandrew]

He can't be offered arby, so he's a FA.

 

However, his injury risk as a 36 year-old, especially as a Japanese pitcher (he likely threw tons of pitches as a young man) is very high. And, as all top FA SP's do, he'll get more money than he should, and at least an extra year, maybe two. I could easily see him getting 3y/$42M, and when you add in a buyout, it's probably just about $15M per. That's a huge risk for a smaller market.

[JohnBriggs12]

He can't be offered arby, so he's a FA.

 

However, his injury risk as a 36 year-old, especially as a Japanese pitcher (he likely threw tons of pitches as a young man) is very high. And, as all top FA SP's do, he'll get more money than he should, and at least an extra year, maybe two. I could easily see him getting 3y/$42M, and when you add in a buyout, it's probably just about $15M per. That's a huge risk for a smaller market.

The fact that he threw a lot of pitches at a young age is a positive not a negative. Especially since he's still going strong in his mid 30's. That's the "Mike Marshall" method of building up endurance in pitchers. It doesn't work for everyone but for some it does. It's likely that he would have developed arm trouble much earlier than this if he were prone to.

 

As for risk, when you can't produce top or near top of the rotation starters internally and have to get them on the open market or via trade, it's all very risky for what you have to give up in money or talent. I'd rather them take a risk on a Kuroda type than the type they have been taking risks on lately, and in Kuroda's case all it will be is monetary risk.

[Invader3K]

I'd rather they not take any chances on any FA pitchers this winter, personally. However, if they do, I would rather they get a guy like Kuroda who can still throw in the mid 90s than another Doug Davis type.