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Free Agency Watch: Uehara, Aikawa

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Free Agency Watch: Uehara, Aikawa

by Patrick Newman (Dec 12, 2008)

The Winter Meetings came and went without too many significant moves - a sign that MLB management is just as stuck by the bad economy as everyone else is.

On that sobering note, there are some rumblings on Koji Uehara and Ryoji Aikawa to share:

  • Sanspo is reporting that Texas is working on 3-year, $10m proposal for Uehara. Team president Nolan Ryan is quoted as trusting Jim Colborn's evaluation of Uehara, but they need a little more time to decide on a direction. The problem is, Texas prefers Uehara has a reliever, and he's looking for a rotation job. The Mets met with Uehara's agent in Las Vegas, and are planning to meet with him again. NY seems to prefer him in a bullpen role as well. 
  • Sponichi repors that Ryoji Aikawa is getting a look from the Orioles, who seem intent on acquiring a Japanese player this offseason. The article speculates that the O's might want him to help attract Uehara or Kenshin Kawakami – which I find spurious as you'd rather have those guys throwing to someone who knows the league. Nikkan Sports contradicts the Sponichi report, saying that he's inching closer to joining Yakult.
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