SAN FRANCISCO–There’s one potential free agent who has the ability to shake up Major League baseball’s landscape this offseason, and on Wednesday morning, Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy acknowledged San Francisco is scouting him.
That player, Shohei Otani, is a wunderkind, a 22-year-old two-way star who has taken the Japanese Pacific League by storm and reportedly has his sights set on playing in the United States next season. Otani is considered a can’t miss talent, a rare athlete with the potential to make an impact on the mound or at the plate, and according to Bochy, Giants’ general manager Bobby Evans is is Japan scouting Otani this week.
“I think they’re on their way now,” Bochy joked, when asked if Evans would return with Otani. “We’re pretty close. But you know what, he and Jeremy (Shelley) are down there taking a look at him (Otani) and doing their work.”
Evans and Shelley, the Giants’ assistant general manager, traveled to Japan to scout Otani, but there’s little doubt it baseball circles that the Nippon Ham Fighters’ star would be able to transition successfully. Still, Bochy said it’s important that San Francisco takes a detailed look at Otani, especially considering there’s a realistic opportunity for the Giants to sign Otani this offseason.
“There’s going to be a lot of attention on him (Otani),” Bochy said. “It’s part of the scouting process that every club goes through. Scouts, front office, it’s checking out players and doing our due diligence as they say.”
Because of Major League Baseball’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, Otani’s earning potential is limited which allows a team like the Giants which has a smaller international spending pool than many other teams to compete for Otani’s services. The Giants are unable to give Otani more than a $300,000 signing bonus, but other franchises are also bound by similar restrictions.
On Wednesday morning, Bochy was asked if he’s ever had a player he thought was capable of pitching and playing in the field, and while he said there are certain examples of players he believe could be successful fulfilling that type of role, he’s never been tempted to have a pitcher play in the field regularly.
“(Jeff) Samardzija is on me to play outfield,” Bochy said. “He was an outfielder in college, well, they ended up not letting him play. But I haven’t been real close to having a guy to be honest. I’ve had some pretty good hitting pitchers that I think could have played a position and held their own. I think Bum is one of those, Woody Williams was a guy that I always had available to go out and play a position. Adam Eaton. You don’t see too many of them.”
Bochy also admitted that he’s not certain Otani would continue pitching and hitting regularly at the Major League level, but if it does work out that way, the Japanese superstar might be best served finding an American League team where he could serve as a designated hitter.
“I don’t think it would work,” Bochy said. “No, I think you’re talking more something that might work in the American League with a DH. It’s a lot of throwing, it’s a lot of wear and tear and then you’re going to have to go out there and try to pitch. Maybe it could work as a reliever. Colleges do it, I could see where that could work. If you want to make him a late-inning reliever. And we have a pretty good player here that did that in college in Buster (Posey).”
In 140 innings last year, Otani recorded a 1.86 earned run average while racking up 174 strikeouts. This year, Otani’s time on the mound has been limited, but he’s been clocked at 102 miles per hour and is hitting .341 over 56 games as a hitter. Otani has obvious star power, and his signing is almost certain to provide a team with a unique athlete capable of helping in a variety of ways.