ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — One day after the Rays were eliminated from the AL Division Series, general manager Erik Neander sat on an elevated stage inside Tropicana Field and listed the team’s needs as the offseason had officially begun. The biggest priority: improving an offense that finished seventh in the AL in runs and 11th in homers.
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Tampa Bay boasted one of the best pitching staffs in baseball but at times lacked offensively. Of the 10 postseason teams, the Rays ranked near the bottom in offensive production, including last in home runs.
The Rays hope they’ve added another piece to help solve that puzzle.
Tampa Bay officially welcomed Japanese outfielder/infielder/designated hitter Yoshitomo Tsutsugo during an introductory press conference Tuesday at Tropicana Field. Tsutsugo’s two-year deal worth $12 million isn’t exactly a splashy signing, but it’s one that still carries plenty of weight after the club traded Tommy Pham to the Padres and was unable to re-sign free-agent outfielder Avísaíl Garcia, who agreed to a two-year, $20 million contract with the Brewers.
Tsutsugo is a left-handed slugger who spent the past 10 seasons with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, slashing .285/.382/.528 with 205 home runs and 613 RBIs over 968 games and 4,000 plate appearances. He has trended upward over the past four years, which caught the Rays’ attention, leading Japan’s NPB league with 139 home runs while ranking third in RBIs (372).
The Rays are hopeful Tsutsugo’s raw power translates to the big-league level.
— Josh Tolentino (@JCTSports) December 17, 2019
“The impact he’s made, the results, the offensive production in a league as talented as the NPB … is something that initially caught our attention and led to our pursuit of Yoshi,” said Neander, sitting alongside manager Kevin Cash, Tsutsugo and Daisuke Sugiura, a Japanese interpreter from Tsutsugo’s agency, Wasserman. “Yoshi is someone who, by all accounts, loves baseball. Has an exceptional work ethic. He’s a natural leader. And he’s a wonderful teammate to players of all types of backgrounds.
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“What Yoshi will bring to our group only strengthens the values in our clubhouse that are most important. Certainly, we’re hopeful and confident he’s going to help us win games as well.”
Rays scouts and front office executives are confident they did the proper homework on Tsutsugo. Neander said club officials began scouting Tsutsugo a few years ago. However, the tipping point might have been Cash and Neander attending multiple in-person, private workouts last week during the Winter Meetings in San Diego. Tsutsugo, through Sugiura, applauded the Rays’ efforts plus Cash’s personality, which he said was shown throughout the recruitment process.
Tsutsugo reportedly had higher offers but ultimately chose the Rays because of how he believes he’ll fit in with the current group. He also didn’t want Cash to haunt his dreams.
“If I didn’t come to the Rays, Kevin might have haunted me in my nightmares,” Tsutsugo joked. “Erik and Kevin were very passionate about wanting me here. Kevin’s passion, for me, was one of the biggest parts of why I joined the Rays.”
The Athletic MLB’s Eno Sarris recently published a story on Tsutsugo, taking a deep dive into his production in Japan and predicting how his talents will correlate in America. Sarris factored in plate discipline, contact, baserunning, defense and fly-ball hitting, and found slugging comparisons to players such as J.D. Davis, Brandon Belt and new teammate Ji-Man Choi.
Yoshitomo Tsutsugo and Shogo Akiyama are probably going to come to MLB from Japan. I found MLB comps and likely landing spots for each: https://t.co/e25SQZxmZy
— Eno Sarris (@enosarris) November 21, 2019
Tsutsugo comes to the Rays with plenty of pop, but exactly how will Cash utilize him on a day-to-day basis with a ton of left-handed hitters (Austin Meadows, Kevin Kiermaier, Brandon Lowe, Nate Lowe, Joey Wendle, Brian O’Grady, Michael Pérez and Choi) already on the roster? Tsutsugo is expected to be worked out at first base, third base and left field during spring training.
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“We know he can hit,” Cash said. “It’s a pretty unique situation. The versatility only helps. Being able to shift guys around and put them in different holes to fill immediate needs, he’s going to add to that mix. Fully expect him to be a presence somewhere right in the middle of our lineup.
“The presence he shows, he’s got a track record of being successful at a very elite level of baseball. We’re fortunate we’re getting a guy who can walk in, be himself and be one of our leaders going forward.”
Still, it remains to be seen how well his game translates to the big-league level. There’s the language barrier — Tsutsugo speaks little English but vows to take classes before the start of spring training — and he’ll also need to adapt to a new culture. It’s almost certain there will be growing pains and an adjustment period as Tsutsugo moves from Japan to Florida with his wife and 18-month-old daughter.
“Obviously, I’ve never faced MLB pitching,” Tsutsugo said. “Throughout my career in Japan, I prepared for this my whole life. The Rays have great data and resources here. With Kevin and the other hitting coaches, they’ll help me prepare and I’m excited about that.”
In Sarris’ story, he predicts Tsutsugo will slash .271/.339/.442 during his first MLB season. The Rays would surely welcome that type of production, in addition to his power hitting — the main trait that attracted the Rays to him. Tsutstugo had an average exit velocity of 92 mph this past season, according to FanGraphs, which would place him among the top 30 hitters in MLB.
The Rays notoriously took Yandy Diaz’s power, worked with him on lifting and driving the ball, and helped translate his swing into a big jump in production. Diaz, who finished in the top 15 in the league in exit velocity this year at 97 mph, belted a career-best 16 home runs in just 79 games. That was quite an improvement from only one home run in his previous two seasons with the Indians.
In Tsutsugo, though, the Rays are already getting both power and production. And at 28 years old, it comes down to building off Tsutsugo’s known offensive abilities and deciding how he fits defensively once spring arrives.
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“Our assessment of his talent was solidified well before these last few weeks,” Neander said. “When you talk about a commitment like this, it has to be more than the finances. It has to be about the comfort of the fit. For us, a lot of the last few weeks have been spent investing time and making ourselves accessible to Yoshi. The comfort is all very present across all the time we spent with him. We believe he’s here today because that’s a mutual view.”
Moving forward, the club still has a few other needs to check off. Pham, Garcia and catcher Travis d’Arnaud, who signed with the Braves in free agency, combined for a large chunk of the Rays’ offense from the right-handed batter’s box. The trio of players finished with 379 hits, 57 home runs and 207 RBIs. After subtracting three of their impact right-handed bats and adding only one (outfielder Hunter Renfroe, acquired with prospect Xavier Edwards in the Pham trade), it’s clear the Rays still have work to do before spring training.
With Tsutstugo’s signing, the 40-man roster is now at 39.
Tsutsugo becomes the fourth Japanese player in club history (pitcher Hideo Nomo, 2005; infielder Akinori Iwamura, 2007-09; outfielder Hideki Matsui, 2012). Tsutsugo is only the second Japanese player (Iwamura) to begin his major-league career with the Rays.
“Throughout my 10-year career in Japan, I’ve came (to the United States) six times (during the offseason),” Tsutsugo said. “There’s more advanced methods in the States. I wanted to be able to experience that early on before I came here. Now I’m finally here. It’s a dream fulfilled. I’m very happy to be a member of the Tampa Bay Rays.”
(Top photo: Kim Klement / USA Today)