After two decades of inactivity, the White Sox are finally making moves to tap into one of baseball's richest talent pipelines. David Keller, special assistant to White Sox GM Chris Getz, spoke with reporters this afternoon about the team's plans to become more active in the market for Asian players, representing a substantial positive development for the organization's talent pipeline.
White Sox Longstanding Drought in Asia
The franchise's rich history of Cuban players needs no further explanation, and the organization is also revamping its facilities in the Dominican Republic as part of a $12 million renovation, per a recent report. However, their activity in Asia has been nonexistent for a long time. Their last Asian signing was Tadahito Iguchi in 2005, and the last player from Asia to play for the team was Kosuke Fukudome in 2012. The team was briefly linked to Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasaki last offseason, but nothing came of it.
Keller offered some interesting insights to reporters regarding the team's revamped plans in the Asian market. He mentioned how the organization is setting up an infrastructure that will make them "feel good about a process in acquiring those players." He also stated that the organization has hired a scout in Japan to scout NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball). Keller himself was in Japan for 10 days looking at these players as well, per Scott Merkin of MLB.com.
Connection to Japanese Superstar
This coming offseason looks to be rich in talent coming over from Asia. The leading headline is Munetaka Murakami, a 25-year-old left-handed hitting infielder from Japan. Interestingly, Murakami's manager is former White Sox reliever Shingo Takatsu, whom the team signed directly from Japan in 2004. Murakami would represent a substantial signing for a White Sox team looking to take the next step.
Other Potential Targets
Murakami is not the only talented Asian player potentially coming stateside this winter. 27-year-old right-handed pitcher Tatsuya Imai, 29-year-old right-handed hitting infielder Kazuma Okamoto, and 28-year-old right-handed pitcher Kona Takahashi are all expected to be posted and head to MLB from Japan this winter. 29-year-old left-handed hitting Korean infielder Sung Mun Song also reportedly hopes to be posted this offseason. Other players could later join them in what looks to be a strong class.
Offseason of Opportunity
The White Sox have had no presence in Asia for the better part of two decades. As a result, they have fallen behind significantly compared to teams like the Dodgers, Padres, and Cubs in regards to obtaining talent from Asia. The organization's revamped front office appears committed to changing that. We will have to wait and see how long it takes for the organization to start signing overseas talent and thus building up a pipeline. Nonetheless, it is an encouraging development that they are reopening avenues for obtaining talent that had been dormant for decades.
