Billy Eppler has a history of scouting and signing Japanese pitchers that could play a significant role in whether the Mets land Kodai Senga, the star free agent who is drawing interest from several major league teams.
As a rival executive put it, “Billy has a lot of expertise in that area, based on all the scouting and networking he’s done in Japan. He’ll know everything there is to know about the guy, which could be very important.”
In fact, as a scout and then assistant GM with the Yankees, Eppler scouted Masahiro Tanaka extensively, all the way back to seeing him in the high school tournament that draws national attention in Japan. And he developed a relationship with Shohei Ohtani that paid off when he became GM of the Los Angeles Angels, helping convince the two-way superstar to play in Anaheim.
Now Eppler’s experience figures to be vital as the Mets decide how high a priority Senga should be for them in putting pieces in place for their 2023 starting rotation. They will meet with him in person as Senga is expected to visit with several teams in the next week or so, and sources say they have serious interest in him.
But at what cost? And at whose expense?
Is signing Senga a better idea than re-signing Chris Bassitt? Would the Japanese right-hander be a solid alternative to signing Carlos Rodon, especially since the Mets would rather not lose the draft choices and $1 million in international bonus pool money that is attached to Rodon via the San Francisco Giants’ qualifying offer?
Scouts and executives are in agreement that the 29-year old Senga has the potential for dominance as a major league starter, coming off a season in which he went 11-6 with a 1.94 ERA in Nippon Professional Baseball last season for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
Last week at the GM meetings, in fact, Boston Red Sox GM Chaim Bloom said of Senga: “Super-talented, athletic, power stuff. Just a really impressive arm.”
Senga averaged 96 mph with his fastball last season, and threw as hard as 101.9 mph in one start in May, setting up a splitter that was the most difficult pitch for NPB hitters to make contact with in 2022, according to Japanese statistical site DeltaGraphs.
Senga’s splitter, or fork ball, is such a wipeout pitch that it…