Ed Zurga – Getty Images Sport
The Kansas City Royals need to find another starting pitcher if they want to stay competitive in 2016. Depending on how they address the questions at both corner outfield positions, they could have a lot or a little to spend on a free agent starter. That’s a vague description of the payroll, I know, but it’s all a blank slate right now, and general manager Dayton Moore works in remarkably novel ways. Hopefully Moore looks into is signing the reliable veteran starter Hisashi Iwakuma to a long-ish-term deal this offseason.
Iwakuma would be great as a Royal, as he doesn’t walk batters and his junk induces a lot of soft contact. The Royals clearly have the kind of defense that will positively impact his worth to this club, as the presence of several Gold Glovers should making the batting average on balls in play for Iwakuma’s opposition tinier than ever. KC shouldn’t worry about offering an extra year either, since his velocity has never greatly mattered and he’s shown no signs of losing command while advancing in age. Iwakuma does have 11 seasons of Nippon League starting pitching in that arm, but through his career, he typically bounces back well from injury.
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported that the Seattle Mariners are expected to offer Iwakuma something like a two-year, $24 million contract. Iwakuma wants another year and more money, and FanGraphs.com expects he will earn around $14 million. He recorded a 3.54 ERA through 20 starts with Seattle last year and has compiled a 3.17 ERA over his four seasons in MLB. Three years at $14 million seems about right for Iwakuma, but for all I know, Moore may have that money already allocated for a far more intricate plan. I just know that signing Iwakuma and doing pretty much nothing else would already make me a happy Royals fan heading into next year.
Doug LaCerte is www.RantSports.com’s Kansas City Royals beat writer. Follow him on Twitter @DLaC67, “like” him on Facebook and add him to your network in Google.
