Where Will Kosuke Fukudome End Up?
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by user DNL
He has a great name -- assuming you intentionally mispronounce it. He's Kosuke Fukudome, the Next Great Thing from Japan.
I spent a good deal of time today building his ArmchairGM page, and you can go add to an edit it whenever. He's an interesting player: a disaster, defensively, in the infield, but his arm strength and decent speed makes him a plus when in right; with the bat, he has doubles-power and a solid (read: .400) OBP. He'll want to play in center but, as above, is better suited for right. The other downside -- his seasonal age (age as of 6/1) next year will be 31. Oh, and the buzz is that he'll command a 4 year, $48m deal, or something like that.
Early rumors have a few teams showing interest, including the Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, and the San Francisco Giants. One has to believe that the New York Yankees will also give him a look-see, as well other large-market teams and a few stealthy candidates. (I doubt the New York Mets will, even if he'd be good at Shea.) Here's an off-the-cuff look at where Fukudome may end up, keeping in mind that the 2007-08 off-season is far, far off.
So, given this, where will he end up?
1) Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox are definitely interested, but you have to wonder where Kosuke will play. They have Manny and J.D. Drew patrolling the corner OF positions, and it's it's not like DH is available. Theo Epstein has shown a willingness to cut corners on defense, but this seems like a pretty big risk given the treacherous Fenway outfield. Oh, and it means finding someone to take Coco Crisp. Finally, the marketing benefit of Fukudome -- other than the fact that every single American male will buy a jersey -- is muted by the fact that he's a redundant acquisition insofar as attracting Japanese attention (and yen) is concerned. But the biggest negative:
2) New York Yankees: Let's say the 2007 season plays out the way it has, and the Red Sox win the AL East while the Yanks stay home. Does anyone think that George Steinbrenner will sit idly by as the BoSox grab the top position player of the off-season? No way. The selling point for Fukudome is easy; he'd have the chance to play alongside countrymate Hideki Matsui -- assuming the two get along. (I have no reason to believe otherwise). Oh, and Bobby Abreu? He'd get the Gary Sheffield treatment. Caveat: can they handle Japanese busts in consecutive years?
3) Seattle Mariners: Speaking of countrymates, what about that Ichiro guy? That sounds like a selling point -- but it's probably not. Both Ichiro and Fukudome play right. The Ms probably won't move Ichiro to CF as Adam Jones is the wave of the future. So, Ichiro gets bumped. He's a national hero back home, making this an unlikely landing.
4) Texas Rangers: My prohibitive favorite. Really. They went hard after Carlos Lee, and Fukudome sounds like a better OBP, better defense, worse SLG version of Lee. Sounds like a fit. They have money, need, and most importantly, opportunity, as the AL West is a reachable goal. Their outfield is a motley crew of has-beens and never-weres, and Fukudome fixes that.
5) San Francisco Giants: The Barry Show can't power this team by itself. The team is built to "win now" but doesn't really have all the pieces to do that. Fukudome will be an instant hero to the large Japanese population in San Fran, too. He may pay for himself. My caveat: If Bonds isn't going to be back next year -- or if he's a shell of his former self -- the Giants look to rebuild. (Silly Zito!) So I took Texas over SF.
6)Tampa Bay Devil Rays. My own addition -- and one that I think could actually be there, or, at least, should be. Rocco Baldelli probably won't be a D-Ray next year, and Elijah Dukes is anyone's guess. TB will probably be in the market for a center fielder, and most teams who eye Fukudome won't put him in center. If he really wants to play there and wants to be the conquering hero for a young team, Tampa Bay may be the best place. Bonus: 3B Akinori Iwamura is from Japan, too.
