Yankees showing interest in Japanese reliever

Links (11)

Yanks Interested In Kazuo Fukumori
Published 12/8/2007 by Tim Dierkes at MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com
... 31 year-old Japanese reliever Kazuo Fukumori is drawing plenty of interest - 10 teams have inquired, if you believe his agent.  A new interested party has been revealed - the Yankees.  They met with Alan Nero on Wednesday.  Fukumori wants a two-year deal. ...

Rays after Fukumori
Published 12/8/2007 by Matt Bishoff <info@draysbay.com> at DRaysBay
According to MLBTR, the Rays are in the hunt for reliever Kazuo Fukumori. Ken Davidoff's article says the Padres and Rays are also in the mix.  The Nationals, Royals, and Red Sox are others who have been connected.  The Rockies will pass on ...

Buzz: Adding to the Mets Bullpen
Published 12/8/2007 by Matthew Cerrone at MetsBlog.com
... In a report for Newsday, Ken Davidoff reports that the Yankees have met with 31 year-old Japanese RHP Kazuo Fukumori, who has drawn interest from 10 teams, including the Padres, Rays, Nationals, Royals, and Red Sox. ...

Quest for bullpen arms goes to Japan
Published 12/8/2007 by Joseph P. at River Avenue Blues » River Avenue Blues, A New York Yankees Blog
... I’m not sure why we didn’t see the Yanks connected with Japanese reliever Kazuo Fukumori before, but according to Newsday, they’ve announced their intentions to Alan Nero, Fukumori’s agent. You may remember Nero from this past week, when he approached the Yankees about a long-term deal for client Chien-Ming Wang, but cowered from making the first offer. Anyway, they’re supposedly one of 10 teams in on the righty, though I’m sure Nero is counting every team that has even a passing interest. ...

The Weekend Yankeeland
Published 12/8/2007 by Mantlemurcer at My Pinstripes
... Fukumori, 33, served most recently as a closer for the Rakuten Golden Eagles. He went 4-2 with a 4.75 ERA in 34 appearances, striking out 33 and walking 17 in 36 innings, before going down with an elbow injury. He underwent season-ending surgery in July to remove bone chips from his elbow. Source ...

Yankees Look East (Again) for Pitching Help
Published 12/8/2007 by Josh Alper at FanHouse
... says that the Yankees have inquired about the 33-year old reliever, late of the Rakuten Golden Eagles, to help fill out their bullpen for the 2008 season. According to Newsday, the Yankees got into the bidding late, after teams like the Padres and Rays, and are now taking a look at Fukumori's medical records and DVDs of his mound work before proffering an offer. ...

An Alternative to Fukumori
Published 12/9/2007 by A.S. at East Windup Chronicle
Lost amidst all the Kuroda and Fukudome signing talk is the fact that Fukumori Kazuo (according to MLBTraderumors) is drawing interest from 10 teams. According to this article this list now includes the Yankees. We brokedown Fukumori in this article, which we’re proud to say has been listed as the reference on Wikipedia’s Fukumori entry. Nice.  Wait, now what was I saying? Oh, yes, in our breakdown we’d mentioned that the former Rakuten Golden Eagles closer would likely be looking at minor league ...

Recharged with lots of news
Published 12/9/2007 by JMM at MY BASEBALL BIAS
... Turning to the bullpen, Ken Davidoff writes that the Yankees have interest in Japanese reliever Kazuo Fukumori. Fukumori, 33, went 4-2 with a 4.75 ERA in 34 appearances with the Rakuten Golden Eagles before having season-ending surgery on his injured elbow (bone spurs). My only comment on this is… who aren’t the Yankees looking at? They’ve been rumored to be in on just about every free-agent reliever. LaTroy Hawkins ...

Catching up
Published 12/10/2007 by Dave & Aziz Nekoukar at NJ.com: Pride of the Yankees
... for 2009. We're sure Cashman thinks harder about what to have for lunch every day than whether or not he should pick up that option. As Bill Madden notes, Cashman seems committed to ending the flawed spending and going with his stockpile of young arms. Unlike Pavano, Andy Phillips declined a minor league assignment and is now a free agent . It's a shame they couldn't find room for him. We hope Andy lands a job in the majors somewhere. He certainly deserves it. Newsday informs us that the Yanks are showing interest in Japanese relief pitcher Kazuo ...

Newsday: Davidoff - Yankees showing interest in Japanese reliever
Published 12/11/2007 at Replacement Level Yankees Weblog
Tuesday, December 11, 2007 Newsday: Davidoff - Yankees showing interest in Japanese reliever The Yankees, searching for affordable bullpen help, met with the representative for Japanese free agent Kazuo Fukumori during the winter meetings in Nashville. Alan Nero, Fukumori’s agent, told Newsday he met with Yankees assistant general manager Jean Afterman on Wednesday. Nero said about 10 teams have expressed interest in the righthander. The Padres and Rays are among the reported suitors. ... One major-league scout, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Fukumori threw ...

Rangers Close To Signing Fukumori?
Published 12/12/2007 by Tim Dierkes at MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com
... As many as 10 teams were said to be interested in Fukumori, including the Yankees, Nationals, Royals, and Red Sox.  Ken Davidoff recently spoke to a scout who described Fukumori as "not bad." ...