There was little doubt Hideki Irabu and the New York Yankees would reach a deal.
Now, the only question is whether Irabu will be worth all the money the Yankees are paying him.The 27-year-old right-hander agreed to terms Thursday, getting the richest deal ever given a major league rookie, a $12.8 million, four-year contract. Irabu planned to appear at Yankee Stadium today to formally join the team.
The Yankees acquired the rights to the Japanese-born pitcher on April 22 from San Diego. New York faced a midnight Saturday deadline to sign him, or his rights would have reverted to the Padres.
Irabu has led the Pacific League in ERA for two straight seasons. He is 59-59 lifetime with 1,111 strikeouts in 1,102 2-3 innings.
Irabu will likely be assigned to the minors for a week to a month. Depending on when injured Dwight Gooden is ready to return, Irabu could take the place of Gooden or Kenny Rogers in the Yankees' starting rotation.
"They say he's the Nolan Ryan of Japan," Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter said. "I guess we'll find out when he get's here if he's worth it."
Irabu becomes the fourth Japanese pitcher in the majors, joining former NL rookie of the year Hideo Nomo of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Shigetoshi Hasegawa of Anaheim Angels and Takashi Kashiwada of the New York Mets. In addition, the Seattle Mariners have Mac Suzuki in the minors.
"It could open up the whole Asian market to the Yankees," New York pitcher David Cone said in Toronto after beating the Blue Jays 4-0 Thursday. "And we certainly need the fans, not to mention the pitching depth it gives us."
Irabu has not pitched this year.