Kosuke Fukudome signs with Chicago White Sox – MLB News
The Chicago White Sox have signed Japanese national and former Chicago Cubs’ talented out-fielder Kosuke Fukudome to a one-year deal worth $1 million on late Tuesday night to support their dire outfield.
"We have a fair amount of quality (right-handed pitchers) in our division this year and we felt we were a little unbalanced," White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn said. "Kosuke obviously has a track record of performing well against right-handed pitchers."
He added, "He's someone who can spell Viciedo or Rios, if either of them struggles or needs a breather, and even for De Aza, too, depending on the matchups. We were in the mix until the end. We were aggressive. It's a little different scenario today than it was four years ago."
Though the deal is only guaranteed for one year but the White Sox management also explained in a statement that Fukudome might be considered for the following season as well. This will depend upon his 2012 season performance and how well he is able to adapt.
From experts’ point of view, Fukudome will be helping the White Sox right field. Last season playing along-side with some of the very talented players of the Cleveland Indians, Fukudome showed them the true class of the Japanese style of offensive ball play that eventually helped the Indians' roster in a big way. They not only out-performed many teams but also achieved consistent winning percentage last season.
Fukudome is coming with a batting average of .262 along with eight home-runs, 35 RBIs and .342 OBP while his career average of .260, 42 homers, 191 RBIs and .361 OBP is also pretty impressive for a three-year veteran player.
His arrival in the White Sox roster certainly is a great opportunity for both sides. On one end, Fukudome’s game will stable the level of consistency in the franchise while on the other end it will help his game towards more excellence. In the meanwhile, Spring Training is right around the corner and Fukudome is already preparing hard to perform well on a bigger scale next season.
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