Dodgers Reportedly Sign Hisashi Iwakuma

Last season, Iwakuma became the second Japanese-born pitcher to throw a no-hitter in Major League Baseball since Hideo Nomo did it for the Dodgers in 1996.

Iwakuma turns 35 in April, so he presumably wouldn’t require the long-term commitment of younger pitchers like Johnny Cueto, or the five-year deal signed by Jeff Samardzija with San Francisco earlier on Saturday.

In his major league career, Iwakuma is 47-25 with a 3.17 ERA and 551 strikeouts in 653.2 innings pitched. Iwakuma being a command specialist is unlikely to see the same decline as similar aged hard thrower making the signing less of a risk.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are coming one step closer to filling the Zack Greinke-shaped hole in their rotation. He went 38-20 since arriving from Japan as a prized free agent in 2012, logging a 3.07 ERA, and was a 14- and 15-game victor in 2013 and 2014 respectively. They are more likely to push for someone who costs less, such as Hisashi Iwakuma. General manager Jerry Dipoto recently reiterated that retaining Iwakuma was the club’s top priority. He also traded for Anthony Bass of the Texas Rangers, another pitcher that could possibly work his way into the starting rotation. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to any Mariners fans if he decides to work with what is already on the 40-man roster. The Dodgers and Giants are also reportedly targeting Hisashi Iwakuma, while Darren O’Day and Ryan Madson are reportedly close to signing new contracts. Last year, Iwakuma posted the best swinging strike percentage of his career, at 10.6 percent.