"Norimoto has played 13 seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, all with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. A starter for most of that time, he has transitioned into the Eagles' closer over the past two years. Norimoto has gone 48-53 in save opportunities. He posted a 3.46 earned run average in 2024 and is coming off a 3.02 mark across 56 2/3 frames last season."
"Despite his decent numbers at the back of the Eagles' bullpen, Norimoto isn't a power arm. He hasn't recorded a strikeout rate above 20% in any of the past four seasons. Norimoto fanned just 17.2% of batters faced against an 8.4% walk rate last year. FanGraphs writes that he sits around 92 MPH on his fastball and features an above-average splitter as his best secondary pitch. He seemingly projects as a middle reliever or depth arm at the major league level."
"It'd be a surprise if Norimoto commands more than a cheap one-year MLB contract. It's possible he explores major league interest as a leverage play in negotiations for potentially bigger money in Japan. Norimoto has nine-plus seasons of service time in his home country, so he's an unrestricted free agent who can sign with any club in NPB or a foreign league. An MLB team would not owe the Eagles a posting fee."
Takahiro Norimoto, 35, is a right-handed free agent with a major league offer while also considering Japanese clubs. He spent 13 seasons with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, moving from starter to closer and converting 48 of 53 save chances. He posted a 3.46 ERA in 2024 after a 3.02 ERA across 56 2/3 innings the prior season. His fastball sits near 92 mph and his above-average splitter is his best secondary pitch; strikeout rates have been under 20% for four seasons. He projects as a middle reliever or depth piece in MLB and would likely draw a modest one-year contract; an MLB team would not owe a posting fee.
Read at MLB Trade Rumors
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