Fresh Fur Part 3: Kazuki Saito (Hoppy Endings, pre Opening Day Sim) [PP:2055.06]

[neugey]

The shuffling of Jackrabbits/AAA Inferno catchers has been interesting this offseason. This prior month, Carlton Inions received a bonus to join the Inferno as a minor leaguer. C Jay Pochin was sent up to Spring Training and expected to make the final 27 this year, but now he is being waived to go back down to AAA and make room for an unexpected newcomer.

GM Mike Bauer made the move to trade $2 million in cash to get a player they originally targeted during the Rule V but missed out on – veteran catcher Kazuki Saito. The Bluebirds took the catcher in the first round while Edmonton opted for power pitcher Ivan Martinez earlier in round one. Edmonton had intended to draft Saito in the second, but he was no longer there.

Scouts then noticed a logjam of catchers on the Nashville team, and Bauer hatched the idea to trade cash for Saito. Before long Nashville and Edmonton agreed on a satisfactory dollar amount.

Edmonton wanted to upgrade the catcher position, with Ron Shiplack leaving in free agency and Parker Davenport hitting a measly .194 last season. They also didn’t trust Pochin’s track record up to this point. The arrival of Saito allows Edmonton to setup an unusual platoon – Davenport will generally play in homer-friendly stadiums and against home run prone pitchers, while Saito will get most of the starts when those conditions are not present. Saito is a career .270 hitter who has solid gap power and his starts will hopefully keep some of Davenport’s goose eggs off the box score. While Davenport is a popular player, his skills are declining, and he’s not expected to extend with Edmonton.