Over at Fangraphs, Eric Longenhagen has a write-up on the Texas Rangers’ signing of pitcher Kohei Arihara, the 28 year old righthanded pitcher who is coming to the United States from the Nippon Ham Fighters of the NPB this year on a 2 year deal that will cost the Rangers (including the posting fee) around $7 million.
Longenhagen’s take on Arihara is about what you would expect under the circumstances — inexpensive second division back-end starter without a real good fastball but whose large number of pitches and ability to command them allows him to have success.