O's place faith in rookie from Far East

January 11, 2009 12:36 am

I S IT TOO LATE for Andy MacPhail to add something to his Christmas wish list?

Sure, the holidays have come and gone. But MacPhail, the Baltimore Orioles' director of baseball operations, needs a Rosetta Stone starter kit to help him learn enough Japanese to greet his newest pitcher come mid-February.

Koji Uehara joined the Orioles after signing a two-year, $10 million contract Wednesday. The 33-year-old right-hander is the first Japanese pro to sign with Baltimore. It's expected that Uehara will pitch in a rotation that will also include Jeremy Guthrie and Mark Hendrickson.

Uehara is an eight-time Japanese league all-star who had a 3.81 ERA in 26 games last season. A former winner of the Japanese rookie of the year and pitcher of the year awards, the 6-1, 190-pound pitcher has also been a closer. A year ago he registered 32 saves in a 55-game season, pitching to a 1.74 ERA.

The first overall draft pick in Japan's 1998 baseball draft, Uehara is a decade removed from becoming one of Japan's most celebrated rookies. The righty set a rookie record in 1999 by winning 15 consecutive starts at one point.

The Osaka native won a bronze medal with the 2004 Japanese Olympic team in Athens. He was also on the Japanese team that won the World Baseball Classic in 2006. He won two games and led all WBC pitchers with a 16-strikeouts tournament. To date, Uehara has made 21 appearances in international play, winning 12 times.

The Orioles' executives aren't worried about Uehara's struggles during the first half of last season, prior to pitching in the Olympics. One player who's played professionally both in Japan and in the States isn't as convinced that the former Yomiuri Giant won't have a rough time in the American League East.

"He has a pretty good split, as most guys do in Japan," said the player. "He'll need it to be a good pitch to have any chance at success in the states, especially the AL East."

Whether or not his split-finger fastball is working, Uehara's presence in the Orioles' rotation gives the team a second veteran right-hander. Guthrie, the staff ace, and Hendrickson--a recently signed lefty--are both known commodities.

The other two spots in the rotation could end up being awarded to Garret Olson (a southpaw) and Radhames Liz (a righty). Both have vast upsides but neither had much success in his first stint with the big club.

Uehara is not a long-term solution for the Orioles, but by acquiring him Baltimore has taken the first steps toward making itself a player in the Japanese market. A 30-start season and 190 innings from Uehara this season would thrill MacPhail.

Baltimore isn't expected to compete in 2009. In fact, finishing any better than last place would be something of a success for the Orioles, who have been building towards 2010 since MacPhail was brought in to run the team's front office almost two years ago.

Grant Paulsen can be reached at The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401 or by fax at 540/373-8455.