The agent of Japanese ace Hisashi Iwakuma, Don Nomura, tweeted on Sunday "岩隈さん Oakland Athletics!!!!." That translates to "Hisashi Iwakuma Oakland Athletics," and it has now been confirmed that the A's have won the bidding war for Japan's second best pitcher.
Iwakuma had a 2.81 ERA in over 200 innings last season and went 21-4 with a 1.87 ERA in 2008. Only phenom Yu Darvish is considered a better pitcher in the country.
According to an AL scout, the 29-year-old Iwakuma "would step into any rotation in the majors right now" and "might be the No. 1 [starter] for half the teams in the majors."
The A's will have to pay their bid to his team, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, and then work out a contract with the righty.
Oakland already had the AL's best ERA by a considerable margin in 2010 and are likely to be considered a sleeper in 2011.
