Devil Rays signed infielder Akinori Iwamura to a three-year, $7.7 million contract.
Iwamura will make $1.8 million in 2007, $2.4 million in 2008 and $3.25 million in 2009. The club has a $4.25 million option for 2010 with a $250,000 buyout. Once the deal ends, Iwamura is expected to become a free agent, even though he won't have the requisite six years of service time. Iwamura is likely to play third base for the Rays. His power probably isn't going to translate so well to the U.S., so he might be below average offensively. However, he could make up for it with his glove. A switch to second base is a possibility later, especially if Evan Longoria gets off to a fast start in the minors. Dec. 15 - 2:59 pm et
All i can say is about time. This guy has a cannon and plays great D. That means BJ is out at 3rd, so we will see what happens with BJ and Rocco. Way to go DRO.
thats a pretty cheap deal, what kind of numbers did he put up in japan.
^Thanks for the sig Soty!^ "When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other..." Ecclesiastes 7:14 ΠKΦ
From what i ahve read and heard most believe hos power will not translate as well, kinda like Matsui. His defense is unbelievable, his nickname was "Top Gun" for his cannon of an arm. Def a huge upgrade over BJ at 3rd. He said he wanted to break the japanese HR record of 18 so he is looking to hit it out. He is a career .300 hitter so although he K's he is still getting on. Very happy with this glad the Rays spent some money. It is a bit cheap but Friedman said that they added in the 5 million post fee they paid in determining what he was worth.
This is a pretty nice signing by the Rays. He will probably end up being a steal at that posting fee price and that contract.
"I do not think baseball of today is any better than it was 30 years ago... I still think Radbourne is the greatest of the pitchers." John Sullivan 1914-Old athletes never change.
I hope he works out. Sounds like a great utility player that defensively can excel at several positions, so that extra depth he adds definitely gives us some options with moving some young bats. We can move him to 2nd if Longoria has a good year this year in the minors. Hopefully this is the first smart signing in the Devil Rays franchise history.
raiders_umpire wrote:I hope he works out. Sounds like a great utility player that defensively can excel at several positions, so that extra depth he adds definitely gives us some options with moving some young bats. We can move him to 2nd if Longoria has a good year this year in the minors. Hopefully this is the first smart signing in the Devil Rays franchise history.
Also Reid and Longoira both can play SS, 3B, and 2B. So we could eventually have an IF of Aki, Longoira, Brignac and Cantu at 1st
Cafe Home
Fantasy Football
Fantasy Basketball
Fantasy Hockey
by deerayfan072 » Fri Dec 15, 2006 4:19 pm 
