The Toronto Blue Jays have not added the next Daisuke Matsuzaka, or even the second coming of Kei Igawa in reaching a verbal agreement with Japanese veteran Ken Takahshi on a minor-league contract.
No, the main thing they may have acquired in the transaction is a small foothold into the Far East, a region the club had largely ignored due to past financial restrictions but is now on the radar screen thanks to scouting budget increases.
"It's a tough market to break into but it's a start," general manager J.P. Ricciardi said Monday. "This was an opportunity we were able to take advantage of and if he doesn't come in on a minor-league deal I don't know if it gets done.
"Maybe it gets our foot in the door and hopefully he helps us out."
The Takahashi deal, the team's first bringing a player over from Japan, is expected to be finalized in the next few days. The Blue Jays are also awaiting word on a minor-league offer to 37-year-old first baseman Kevin Millar, who hit .234 with 20 homers and 72 RBIs for the Baltimore Orioles last season.
"It's up to him now," said Ricciardi.
The GM raised eyebrows a couple of weeks back when he told fans during an event for season-ticket holders that the club was planning to boost its scouting in Asia. Rob Ducey, the former Blue Jays outfielder from Cambridge, Ont., was put in charge of the venture, in part because of the familiarity with Japanese baseball he gained during two seasons playing for the Nippon Ham Fighters in the mid '90s.
Takahshi is not a product of that plan, but of a previous relationship Ricciardi and player development director Dick Scott had with an agent. A soon-to-be 40-year-old lefty who has enjoyed 14 solid but unremarkable seasons with the Hiroshima Carp, Takahashi represents a worthwhile gamble for the Blue Jays, who will consider him for the fifth starter's job or a spot in the bullpen.
Starter Tomo Ohka, signed as a free-agent retread in 2007, is the only Japanese player to suit up for the Blue Jays.
Ducey describes Takahashi a "wily old veteran who knows how to pitch," and believes "there's definitely something there." But he'll be aiming higher once the department is fully up and running.
"This signing is no indication of the type of player that might come out of the scouting department," he said from his office in Tarpon Springs, Fla. "The guys I would be able to recommend are guys I could go over and see."
Ducey plans to make three trips per year to Japan -- in May, July and September -- to start "building it from scratch."
His priorities include "everything -- building relationships with different clubs, acquiring international free agents and learning as much about the players who might be a potential fit as possible."
"There are numerous hurdles to overcome and it's exciting for me and the organization."
Ducey rejoined the club as a pro scout in 2006 and was a logical choice to head up the new operation given his experience in Japan. Assistant GM Tony LaCava asked him if at some point he'd be interested in such a job and he jumped at the opportunity when it arose.
"The food, the culture, the people -- I enjoyed a lot of different things over there," said Ducey. "While I was doing it, the eight months felt like a long time, but in hindsight, they were really very good experiences."
To ease his workload his coverage was reduced from four teams and their minor-league affiliates to three -- the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays, plus their farm clubs.
A misconception among fans is that big-league teams can just show up in Japan and start signing players. That's not the case and even if it was, it would be unwise to do so without doing the proper legwork on a player's character and background.
Ducey will be given a chance to plant some seeds and the Blue Jays are eager to see what that may lead to.
"This is something we've wanted to do for years," said Ricciardi. "For a long time it was a headcount issue for us, but (interim CEO) Paul Beeston has really helped us with that.
"Maybe down the road, we'll be able to do some things."
