Sleeper of the Week

As any frequent flyer knows, sometimes it takes a bit longer to reach your destination than originally planned. In Norihiro Nakamura’s case, his plans to travel from Japan to North America were delayed by a mere two years…

Flashback to late 2002: Nakamura, coming off an excellent campaign in which he hit a league-leading 42 home runs and racked up 115 RBI in 140 games for the Kintetsu Buffaloes of Japan’s Pacific League, seemed set to cross the Pacific and join the Mets as their starting third baseman for the 2003 season. But something happened on the way to Shea, and amid much scratching of heads and laying of blame, the star 3B decided to return to Japan, seemingly ending his dream of playing in the major leagues.

Now, however, it looks as if Nakamura will be taking his act to the majors after all. The Buffaloes (now known as the Orix Buffaloes following Kintetsu’s merger with the Orix BlueWave) have agree to make the thirteen-year veteran available via the posting system, which gives major league franchises the opportunity to submit sealed bids for the right to negotiate with a player. And there should be several teams interested in acquiring an experienced, crafty third sacker to strengthen their infields.

Will Nakamura be worth the wait for fantasy owners? His stock has certainly fallen since his flirtation with the Mets. Nakamura battled injuries in both of the last two seasons, and his home run totals have dropped from a high of 46 in 2001 to just 23 and 19, respectively, in those two campaigns, with a corresponding drop in OPS from 1.064 to .858 over that span. At 31, he should still have quite a bit left in the tank, however, if he can just avoid the injury bug.

Clearly, you shouldn’t pencil Norihiro Nakamura in as your fantasy starter this year, particularly since he hasn’t put his name to a major league contract yet (something owners burned by his withdrawal from the Mets two years ago can no doubt relate to). His upside is intriguing, however, and adding him to your bench is worth considering. And since his posting has gone largely unnoticed on this side of the Pacific, if you want to take a flyer on Nakamura, you should currently be able to get him for the bargain price of $1 in auctions, or with a last-round pick in serpentine drafts.