I don't have a link, but on NY ESPN Radio 1050 they just reported he agreed to terms with the Yankees on a 2 year 24 million dollar contract. It can't be made official until the middle of next week.
$12MM for this guy? Sounds like a lot of money. I hear he's a home run hitter in Japan, but had less homers than Alex Cabrera and Tuffy Rhodes, who certainly weren't stars when they played in the US...
isn't big george trying to save money? yeah, cut the organization's dental plan but sign an unproven free agent to a hefty multimillion dollar deal.
The Yankees had a deal in place for 2003 to televise in Japan regardless of who they signed. With Matsui, they expect to create enough revenue to pay for his entire contract by midyear.
Somehow, I got the feeling that this had been decided a long time ago and just getting his John Hancock was a formality. However, ole George has been burned in the past with Japanese superstars like the "toad" aka Irabu.
I guess AP hasn't heard of this 2 years $24million deal. Levine, Cashman among party heading to Japan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Associated Press http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2002/1112/1459990.html NEW YORK -- It sure looks like the New York Yankees are pushing for a deal with Hideki Matsui. Yankees team president Randy Levine and general manager Brian Cashman are scheduled to travel to Japan on Thursday, a team official said on the condition of anonymity. The purpose of the trip, the team official said Tuesday, is to announce a working agreement between the Yankees and the Yomiuri Giants, the top team in the Japanese leagues. Yomiuri also happens to be the former team of Matsui, who officially became a free agent at 10:01 a.m. ET Tuesday. Also scheduled to make the trip are Yankees general partner Stephen Swindal, the son-in-law of owner George Steinbrenner; and Gordon Blakeley, the team's vice president of international and professional scouting. Assistant general manager Jean Afterman already is in Japan, where Matsui is playing for Japanese all-stars against a major league all-star team. The working agreement with the Yomiuri Giants probably will be announced this weekend, the team official said. Matsui, a 28-year-old outfielder who is nicknamed ''Godzilla,'' bats left-handed, and New York envisions him clearing the short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium. He hit .334 for the Giants this season and led the Central League with 50 homers and 107 RBI. In 10 seasons with the Giants, he hit 332 homers, winning the Central League's MVP in 1996, 2000 and this year. He does not have an agent, saying he will negotiate with the help of a friend who is a lawyer. Matsui has said he will not start talks until after the tour ends Sunday in Tokyo.
The YES network is going to be broadcast in Japan so the 24 million they spent on Matsui, even if he only hits 3 homeruns, is merely a marketing ploy to sign up new subscribers. Its a no lose situation for the Yankees unfortunately.
