Red Sox Sign Nomo To A One Yea Deal! [Archive]

CalifYanksFan

12-15-00, 04:13 PM

sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news/20001215/nomo.html

Red Sox agree to one-year deal with RHP Nomo
December 15, 2000

BOSTON (TICKER) -- The Boston Red Sox did not close the wallet after committing a king's ransom to slugger Manny Ramirez. Today the Red Sox added another free agent, agreeing to a one-year contract with Japanese righthander Hideo Nomo.

Financial terms were not disclosed. Nomo made $1.25 million for the Detroit Tigers last season and was given his unconditional release after the team declined a contract option for 2001.

The former National League Rookie of the Year went 8-12 with a 4.74 ERA for Detroit last season. He finished strong, going 3-1 with a 3.34 ERA in September.

"I'm happy to be part of the Red Sox team," Nomo said. "I'm going to the Red Sox because they have a strong chance to go to a World Series."

Those chances improved Wednesday when the Red Sox signed Ramirez to an eight-year, $160 million contract.

Nomo is the second free agent starter signed by the Red Sox, joining Frank Castillo, who pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays last season. Both will be slotted in the rotation behind Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martinez.

The 32-year-old Nomo broke into the major leagues with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995 and was named the NL Rookie of the Year after going 13-6 with a 2.54 ERA and 236 strikeouts in 191 1/3 innings.

He had another strong year with the Dodgers in 1996, compiling a 16-11 record with a 3.19 ERA and 234 strikeouts in 228 1/3 innings.

After slumping to a 14-12 record with a 4.25 ERA in 1997, Los Angeles traded him to the New York Mets on June 4, 1998, but the Mets did not bring him back for 1999 after he failed to regain his old form.

Nomo had a tryout with the Chicago Cubs before parting ways with the team. He was signed by Milwaukee as a minor league free agent on April 29, 1999. He went 12-8 with the Brewers that season.

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updated at Fri Dec 15 13:20:53 2000 PT

Ohhhhhh OKAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!:P

CalifYanksFan

12-15-00, 11:03 PM

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news/ap/20001215/ap-redsox-nomo.html

Red Sox agree to $4.5 million, one-year deal with Nomo

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20001215/capt.red_sox_nomo_fyf.jpg
FILE -- Detriot Tigers pitcher Hideo Nomo pitches against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards in Baltimore in this April 8, 2000 photo. The Boston Red Sox signed free agent pitcher Hideo Nomo to a one-year deal Friday Dec. 15, 2000, keeping up a holiday season shopping spree that's shaken up the lineup and starting rotation. (AP Photo/Dave Hammond)
AP Photo

By JAY LINDSAY
Associated Press Writer
December 15, 2000

BOSTON (AP) -- The Boston Red Sox signed free agent pitcher Hideo Nomo to a $4.5 million, one-year deal Friday, keeping up a holiday season shopping spree that's shaken up the lineup and starting rotation.

Nomo, who gets a $1.25 million signing bonus, a $3.25 million salary and the chance to earn $750,000 more in performance bonuses, is the third free agent to sign with Boston in the last eight days.

The Red Sox signed pitcher Frank Castillo to a two-year, $4.5 million deal on Dec. 7, then landed prize slugger Manny Ramirez with an eight-year, $160 million contract on Monday.

But general manager Dan Duquette said the Nomo signing is likely the last major move in a busy Boston offseason.

``I believe you're looking at the core of the Red Sox going into the season right now,'' Duquette said.

Duquette said it's too soon to know where Nomo, 31, fits into a rotation headlined by Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martinez.

Nomo, a right-hander who won the 1995 NL Rookie of the Year award with the Los Angeles Dodgers, became a free agent in November when the Detroit Tigers declined to exercise his $5.5 million option.

Nomo was 8-12 with a 4.74 ERA for the Tigers last season and led the team with 188 strikeouts, the sixth-most in the AL.

The Red Sox have been in the market for a starting pitcher, and Duquette said he'd been in contact with Nomo's agent for about three weeks. After trade talks with Montreal for pitcher Dustin Hermanson soured, and Hermanson was dealt to St. Louis, Duquette turned to Nomo.

``We thought he was the best starting pitcher available to us,'' he said.

The signing effectively takes outfielder Trot Nixon and pitchers Tomo Ohka and Paxton Crawford off the market, Duquette said. All have been hot targets for teams talking trade with Boston.

``We thought these players could become our core players and we'd much rather hold onto them,'' Duquette said.

Duquette didn't rule out continuing talks with other free agents, but said any more signings would likely be for ``complementary'' players.

If the team makes no more moves, it's left with an abundance of potential starters, including Rolando Arrojo, Nomo, Ohka, Crawford, and Castillo. Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield also wants to start, and Bret Saberhagen and Pete Schourek are attempting comebacks from injury.

In addition, Ramirez's addition to the outfield leaves either Troy O'Leary or Nixon as the other starter beside Carl Everett.

``We're still looking at a number of options,'' Duquette said.

Nomo has a career record of 69-61 and a 3.97 ERA in six seasons in the majors. In 1997, he reached 500 career strikeouts in 444 2-3 innings, faster than any other pitcher in major league history.

He pitched five seasons in his native Japan before the Dodgers signed him in February 1995. He moved to the New York Mets in 1998 and signed with Milwaukee in 1999 after offseason elbow surgery.

After a tough start for Detroit last year, Nomo finished was 3-1 with a 3.34 ERA in September.

Nomo throws a forkball to complement a fastball in the 90s, and last year averaged 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings, third in the league.

Duquette praised Nomo's recent durability -- he's averaged about 183 innings over the last two seasons -- and attributed his struggles with Detroit last year to poor run support.

``Overall, this is still a top quality major league pitcher,'' Duquette said.

Nomo would earn bonuses of $50,000 for 28 games, $150,000 for 30 games, $175,000 for 32 games, $50,000 for 180 innings, $150,000 for 190 innings and $175,000 for 205 innings, , $150,000 for 190 innings and $175,000 for 205 innings.

Boston must like throwing good money away. Nomo isn't anywhere near worth $4.5M. Just ask the Dodgers, Mets and Tigers.