Japanese reliever Yuki Matsui signs with Padres – MLB.com

Japanese reserve Yuki Matsui signs with Padres

\n\n”, “providerName”: “Twitter”, “providerUrl”: “https://twitter.com”, “thumbnail_url”:null, “type”: “oembed”, “width”:550, “contentType “:”rich”},{“__typename”:”Markdown”,”content”:”Matsui posted a 2.40 ERA in 10 seasons in Japan with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Over the past three seasons, when he transitioned to a one-inning reliever role, he posted a 1.42 strikeout mark with 214 strikeouts in 152 innings pitched, making him one of the most dominant relievers in the NPB.\n\n“ Obviously a great one.” “Track record of really consistent excellence,” Padres general manager AJ Preller said. “For the nine or 10 years he was out of the bullpen, he was one of the best closers in the game. … There are three pitches – fastball, split, slider. He was just very consistent when it came to getting outs and strikeouts “,”type”:”text”},{“__typename”:”Markdown”,”content=”**What are the Padres getting?** \ nMatsui is certainly unique, both in his stature and his arsenal. Matsui is an undersized left-handed hitter, standing just 5'10″ tall and weighing 165 pounds. He misses at bats with his plus splitter. He combines it with a high-spin fastball that ranges between 92 and 94 mph and tops out at 96. Matsui also offers a slider as a third offering.\n\nThis combination helped Matsui hit 32.4% of batters with those he faced last season. One cause for concern, however, could be Matsui's penchant for walks. Despite his solid 5.9% walk rate in 2023, his career grade is 10.9%. (For comparison, the average walk rate MLB's rate was 8.3% last season.)\n\nStill, for much of the last decade, Matsui has been as dominant as any Japanese reliever. If you omit his debut season at age 18, in which Matsui made just 17 starts, his career ERA drops to 2.10. The 28-year-old Matsui has been a multi-inning reliever for most of his NPB career, but has served as a one-inning arm for the past three seasons.”,”type”:”text”},{” __typename =”OEmbed”,html=”

The magic of Matsui 🪄 pic.twitter.com/aXehw38fro

– San Diego Padres (@Padres) December 23, 2023

\n\n\n”,”providerName”: “Twitter”, “providerUrl”: “https://twitter.com”, “thumbnail_url”:null,”type”: “oembed”, “width”:550, “contentType”: “rich”}, {“__typename”: “Markdown”, “content”: “**Where does Matsui fit in?** \nThat's hard to say at this point, considering the Padres with are almost certainly destined to pitch even more. But he's at least suited for an important role.\n\n”Somewhere in the back of the game,” Preller said when asked about Matsui's suitability. “We’ll see how the pen develops and what other options arise this offseason. But he's a guy who can throw anywhere late in the game… a guy who's been shaking hands as a closer at the end of games.”\n\nWhen Josh Hader got free agency, right-hander Robert Suarez was the internal favorite for the occupation closer vacancy. He and Matsui are now the two most likely candidates for the job, with Preller noting that “nothing has been promised.” Other late-inning options include Tom Cosgrove and Steven Wilson.\n\nPerhaps most notably, the addition of Matsui balances the San Diego bullpen in a big way. With the departures of Hader, Tim Hill, Ray Kerr and Drew Pomeranz, Cosgrove was the only reliable left-handed option in the San Diego bullpen. “html”:

Yuki in numbers 💪 pic.twitter.com/y2ziUdqIny

– San Diego Padres (@Padres) December 24, 2023

\n\n\n”,”providerName”: “Twitter”, “providerUrl”: “https://twitter.com”, “thumbnail_url”:null,”type”: “oembed”, “width”:550, “contentType”: “rich”}, {“__typename”: “Markdown”, “content”: “**Where is the Padres bullpen?** \nStill incomplete. With the addition of Matsui, the Padres have a base consisting of Suarez, Matsui, Cosgrove, Wilson and Enyel De Los Santos, who came from Cleveland as part of the Scott Barlow trade.\n\nThey have other options around the last Both could compete -3 spots, including swingmen Jhony Brito and Randy Vásquez, new additions in the Soto deal.\n\nBut bullpens are volatile. Despite the success that Cosgrove, Wilson and De Los Santos had last season, the Padres would be wise to continue expanding their setup mix “:”2023-12-13T19:04:30.132Z”,”preferredPlaybackScenarioURL({\ “preferredPlaybacks\”:\”mp4AvcPlayback\”})”:”https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE /2023/2023-12/13/5436d320-af1b3f97-6b93fc4c-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K .mp4″,”type”:”video”,”description”:”Lee 'Hacksaw' Hamilton joins High Heat to clarify the issues that the San Diego Padres will attempt to resolve before the 2024 season. Keywords”:[{“__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-135″,”title”:”San Diego Padres”,”team”:{“__ref”:”Team:135″},”type”:”team”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”vod”,”title”:”vod”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”mlb-network”,”title”:”MLB Network”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”mlbn-high-heat”,”title”:”MLBN High Heat”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”interview”,”title”:”interview”,”type”:”taxonomy”}],”thumbnail”:{“__typename”: “Thumbnail”, “templateUrl”: https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/mlb/bk5zhjhtngavqdo05ott”},”title” : “Lee Hamilton on the Padres' offseason”, “relativeSiteUrl”: “/video/lee-hamilton-on-padres-offseason”}, {“__typename”: “Markdown”, “content”: “**What's next ?* * \nYes, the Padres could use another reliever (or two). But the addition of Matsui arguably shifts their pitching focus back to the rotation.\n\nOverall, though, their biggest need remains in the outfield. With Soto and Trent Grisham are headed to New York, Fernando Tatis Jr. is the only returning starter, Jose Azocar is a favorite for a bench spot, and No. 13 prospect Jakob Marsee, the Arizona Fall League MVP, could also compete for playing time .\n\nBut the Padres' primary goal this offseason should be acquiring an outfielder – ideally a left-handed hitter who can break up their right-heavy top half of the lineup.”,”type”:”text”},{“__typename ” : “Video”, “contentDate”: “2023-11-11T14:43:56.132Z”, “preferredPlaybackScenarioURL({\”preferredPlaybacks\”:\”mp4AvcPlayback\”})”: “https://mlb-cuts – diamant.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-11/09/a299df65-dab4f11c-85ec238c-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4″,”type”:”video”,”description”:”Padres prospect Jakob Marsee talks about his performance during the Arizona Fall League, playing alongside great teammates and more tags”:[{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”vod”,”title”:”vod”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”interview”,”title”:”interview”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”mlb-top-prospects”,”title”:”MLB Top Prospects”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”arizona-fall-league”,”title”:”Arizona Fall League”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”PersonTag”,”slug”:”playerid-805300″,”title”:”Jakob Marsee”,”person”:{“__ref”:”Person:805300″},”type”:”player”},{“__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-135″,”title”:”San Diego Padres”,”team”:{“__ref”:”Team:135″},”type”:”team”}],“thumbnail”:{“__typename”: “Thumbnail”, “templateUrl”: “https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/mlb/qvbkiravikpa1rpblhs1”}, “title” : “Jakob Marsee on Fall League”, “relativeSiteUrl”:/video/jakob-marsee-on-fall-league”}]”relativeSiteUrl”: “/news/yuki-matsui-japanese-reliever-signs-with-padres” , “contentType”: “news”, “subHeadline”:null, “summary”: “The Padres spent their offseason looking for bullpen help, and they landed sometime Friday, making lefty Yuki Matsui theirs made his first freeman in the big leagues. Agent signing of the winter.\nThe five-year deal is expected to be worth $28 million and includes opt-outs after 2026 and 2027 as well as a”,”tagline({\”formatString\”:\”none\” }) “:null,”tags”:[{“__typename”:”InternalTag”,”slug”:”storytype-article”,”title”:”Article”,”type”:”article”},{“__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-135″,”title”:”San Diego Padres”,”team”:{“__ref”:”Team:135″},”type”:”team”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”transactions”,”title”:”transactions”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”ContributorTag”,”slug”:”aj-cassavell”,”title”:”AJ Cassavell”,”type”:”contributor”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”apple-news”,”title”:”Apple News”,”type”:”taxonomy”}]”type”: “story”, “thumbnail”: “https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/{formatInstructions}/mlb/ox7hycno2gcg3eezx0hv”, “title”: “Yuki Matsui, Japanese replacement , signs with Padres”}},”Team:135″:{“__typename”:”Team”,”id”:135},”Person:805300″:{“__typename”:”Person”,”id”: 805300 }}} window.adobeAnalytics = {“reportingSuiteId”: “mlbglobal08, mlbcom08”, “linkInternalFilters”: “mlb”} window.globalState = {“tracking_title”: “Major League Baseball”, lang: “en”} window.appId = '' /*–>*/