Another day, another reclamation project.
The Cubs have signed pitcher Tsuyoshi Wada to a minor league deal with an invitation to Major League Spring
Training. Wada is
viewed by the Cubs as a potential starter, states the Tribune's Paul Sullivan.
Wada, 32, posted a 2.76 ERA with a 60-to-22 K/BB ratio over his final
78 1/3 innings for the Orioles' Triple-A affiliate in 2013 as he worked
his way back from 2012 Tommy John surgery. Though he inked a two-year,
$8.15 million contract with the O's prior to the 2012 campaign, Wada's injury
prevented him from ever pitching in Baltimore.
Wada joins the ranks of failed Asian hurlers, Takahashi, Lim, and Fujikawa, that the Cubs have signed in recent years. The concept of extended rehabilitation for pitchers cut loose by their existing clubs is becoming a failed strategy after Scott Baker took the money last year and contributed a whopping 15 IP. It looks like a repeat of the plan that the Cubs are trying to stock pile cheap starters in order to flip major league starters at the trade deadline.
