Hisashi Iwakuma made national headlines for the Seattle Mariners when he pitched a no-hitter during the 2015 season, but he is on the open market and generating interest from other teams this offseason.
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Detroit Tigers Reportedly Interested in Iwakuma
Tuesday, Nov. 10
Jason Beck of MLB.com noted Tigers general manager Al Avila “told a Japanese reporter that Mariners free agent Hisashi Iwakuma would be in their mix for starting pitching search.”
Iwakuma finished the 2015 season with a 9-5 record, 3.54 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 111 strikeouts in 20 starts for Seattle. He baffled the Baltimore Orioles on Aug. 12 and threw the first American League no-hitter since his teammate Felix Hernandez accomplished the feat in 2012.
Iwakuma also induced weak hits throughout the season with only 26.1 percent of the balls put in play against him classified as hard contact, per FanGraphs. That mark was a career low.
Bryan Mcwilliam of TheScore.com believes the 34-year-old Iwakuma would provide a reliable veteran presence to Detroit’s rotation that “suffered last season after losing Anibal Sanchez to a right shoulder injury and trading David Price to the Toronto Blue Jays.”
The Tigers were an abysmal 27th in the league in starting pitcher ERA in 2015 and need more depth behind Justin Verlander and a presumed healthy Sanchez if they hope to contend with the World Series champion Kansas City Royals in the American League Central. The Royals finished seventh in the league in total runs and third in team batting average.
Detroit’s best chance at countering that dangerous offense is with better starting pitching, and Iwakuma would be a valuable addition.
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