In addition to a star-studded shortstop class, 2022 MLB free agency has been notable for the bevy of top-flight starting pitchers available to sign.
While the likes of Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw have already come off the board, there are still difference-makers on the open market.
The group includes Japanese ace Kodai Senga, who is making the jump to the big leagues after opting out of his contract with the Nippon Professional Baseball’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
Senga’s agent, Joel Wolfe, said during MLB’s Winter Meetings that nearly a dozen teams have expressed interested in the right-hander and that he could sign before the end of the year, via Kyle Glaser of Baseball America:
Senga has already received multi-year contract offers of five or six years, his agent Joel Wolfe said Tuesday at the Winter Meetings. Wolfe said the number of teams interested in Senga is “more than six and less than 12” and that there is a chance Senga signs before the end of the calendar year.
Senga is a traditional free agent and will not be part of a posting system, which means the team that signs him won’t have to pay additional fees beyond the contract value.
The 29-year-old is coming off one of his best seasons with the SoftBank Hawks in which he went 11-6 with a 1.89 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in 148 innings pitched (23 games).
Senga profiles as a middle-of-the-rotation starter, with a fastball that can reach triple digits and an elite splitter. However, some scouts have expressed concern about his secondary pitches and elbow injury history.
Dodgers among teams showing interest in Kodai Senga
It was previously reported the Los Angeles Dodgers are among the teams showing interest in Senga. The Boston Red Sox, New York Mets and New York Yankees have also been publicly linked to the three-time NPB All-Star.
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