Meet Tsuyoshi Nishioka

This offseason, the Twins won the negotiating rights to Chiba Lotte IF Tsuyoshi Nishioka, which cost them $5 million.  This is a player Bobby Valentine once said was definitely a MLB ready player.  He is one of the top Japanese hitters in their league.  Don't know who he is?  Let's meet him.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka plays for the Chiba Lotte Marines, who won the 2010 Japan Series.  Nishioka was a big part of this, hitting .346 in the regular season and played in a Japan league best 144 games.  He lead Japan in Runs(121), Hits(206) and Total Bases(287).  He posted a .905 OPS while not being a power hitter.  He only hit 11 home runs last season.  He stole 22 bases, and is a former stolen bases leader in 2005 and 2006, so speed is a part of his game.  Nishioka was also a part of the Marines 2005 Japan Series title, stealing 41 bases.  His .905 OPS was almost .100 higher than his next highest career OPS, so he is really more of an .800 OPS guy for his career.

In the field he has won two gold gloves: one in 2005(at second base) and one in 2007(at short stop).  All reports say that he is not really a reliable short stop, committing the most errors in the league at SS in 2010, and having the lowest fielding percentage among all qualifying SS in the league.  He will most likely be a second baseman if he is signed by the Twins.  He is noted to have an above average arm, once throwing a pitch during an informal game clocked at 88 mph.

The Twins are reportedly set to meet with him early Thursday(12/16/2010), to discuss the details of the contract offer they made him.  Reports have that contract offer at 2 years for an unknown amount.   JJ Hardy was traded to the Orioles recently, which means the Twins must have a good idea that he will sign.  The two sides will have ten days to hash out a deal before the Twins' exclusivity window closes.  If no deal is reached in 10 days, he will become a free agent.

If he signs, he will be the perfect Twins player.  Another little piranha.  He will be everything Ron Gardenhire wants.  He plays solid defense at 2B.  He steals, he hits, he scores runs.  He plays hard, and he is durable.  He's young and he will do whatever the manager asks him to do in any given situation.  He doesn't hit many home runs but can put up a .900+ OPS without power.  This guy makes me nervous as a White Sox fan, because the Twins do not need any more piranhas to help them beat our brains in.  Anything the Twins can do to become a more complete team will make them a serious thorn in the White Sox side in 2011. 

My overall grade for Nishioka is B+, only because he needs to put up more seasons like 2010 before I would give him an A.  We will have to see if he can make the transition from Japan to MLB, with the basic issues such as culture shock, time zone changes, and the move from artificial turf to an outdoor real grass stadium.  If he can, he certainly has a future as a solid MLB 2B.