Hot Corner, Hot Stove

Overlooked in my fascination with Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka (I name I can now spell without looking it up) is the presence of another intriguing Japanese player that has been posted by his team, the Yakult Swallows. A third baseman by the name of Akinori Iwamura. He, like Matsuzaka is 26 or 27- maybe 26 now but will be 27 next season? He's won five gold gloves at third, and for each of the last three years, he's hit over .300 with over 30 homers. The Sox have apparently shown some interest in bidding for his services.

The big question of high-profile Japanese position players, of course, is how their skills and numbers will translate to MLB. Not everyone is Ichiro. Not everyone is Hideki Matsui (who did struggle a bit in his first season with the Yankees). For every Ichiro, there's a Kazuo Matsui. Actually, as I think about it, that's not true. There's really only one Kaz Matsui. He was a bust, no question. But So Taguchi is not a great player, but he wasn't great in Japan either. He is what he is- a decent outfielder, a bit of a banjo hitter, and a bench guy. Tadahito Iguchi, the second baseman for the White Sox, was actually quite good- producing roughly equivalent numbers to Mark Loretta with even a bit more power.

So I think I've talked myself into this a bit. I don't think that any Japanese position player has had as much power in the U.S. as they did in Japan, but you can't expect that. Hideki Matsui averaged about 36 homers in Japan, but has been around 25 in New York. But hand-eye coordination, in fielding and in basic hitting, can be roughly translated. So, the question is, what would you pay for a gold glove third baseman in his prime who is probably good for a .280/.350/.440 line and 20 homers?

Would you trade Mike Lowell? As much as I like him, I'd have to say yes. He's really in a perfect spot to be traded. He had a very good bounceback year- showing that his 2005 with the Marlins was fluky and he can still produce. He sure has hell can still play the position. He's only got one year left on his deal, and could certainly help someone. Finally, he's clearly not the Sox long-term solution at third. Obviously Eric Hinske and Kevin Youkilis can each play a bit at third, but someone young, with more upside, and better defense would be more preferable for the longer term.

The real question, of course, is how much all of this will shake up Jerry Remy's "Yo-Lo-Go-Lo-Va" infield. If you've got Pedroia at second, Iwamura at third, maybe Lugo at short, that's not as fun. That's Yo-Ped-Lu-Iwa-Va. Well, if you've had enough to drink, maybe it could still sound like Santana.