Tsuyoshi Wada

The Orioles gave Wada a two-year deal prior to 2012, but never got anything out of him thanks to Tommy John surgery. The Cubs picked him up for peanuts last year, and he managed to impress in both the minors and majors, combining for a 177:47 K:BB ratio in 183 innings. He was rewarded with an incentive-laden one-year deal and looks to be an important part of the Cubs' rotation in 2015. The lefty made his MLB debut at 33 last year, so it's probably not going to be an extensive career in the bigs, but if he pitches like he did last year, he could be a nice fantasy sleeper in NL-only leagues.

The Orioles gave Wada a two-year deal prior to 2012, but he had Tommy John surgery early in the season and he could not work his way back in 2013. Wada made 19 Triple-A starts during a lengthy rehab process, though he frequently required an extra day of rest between starts. He will be two years removed from Tommy John this season, and the Cubs are giving him a chance to compete for a rotation spot after signing him to a minor league deal in December.

Wada missed the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in April. Wada was never a hard thrower in Japan, barely reaching the upper-80s with his fastball. He was hot off a career season prior to his elbow setback in spring training. Wada's timetable may not permit him to be ready right away, which should leave others in the organization with first crack at rotation spots this spring. The Orioles are likely to season him with several months in the minors before considering a promotion.

Wada has been steady frontline starter throughout his nine-year career with the Softbank Hawks, which neatly opened and concluded with Japan Series wins in 2003 and 2011. He never overpowered batters in NPB, and certainly won't at the MLB level. He works mostly around 86-87 MPH with his fastball, and mixes in sliders and changeups at 75-80 MPH, while dropping in a very occasional sub-70 MPH curve. He either took a quantum leap forward or, more likely, massively benefited from the new NPB ball in 2011 that was harder to hit. Wada's ERA in 2011 was 1.51, more than twice as good as his career 3.13 mark, and way ahead of his previous career best, 2.82 achieved in 2007. He's surpassed 180 innings in four of his nine NPB seasons, and never reached 190 innings. NPB starters, when moving to MLB, have tended to see their innings counts decline. Given that Wada is a little on the diminutive side at 5-foot-10, 175, and will open the 2012 season at age 31. anticipating some workload regression seems fair. Given his mediocre velocity and his penchant for throwing strikes, adapting to life in the AL East seems like a tall order. Still, he'll likely begin the season in Baltimore's rotation after signing a two-year, $8.15 million deal.