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Twins release Tsuyoshi Nishioka

Parker Hageman

By Parker Hageman
in Minnesota Twins Talk

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Parker Hageman All-Star

Parker Hageman

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uspw_6460472.jpgThe Twins announced today that they have released Tsuyoshi Nishioka at his request. The middle infielder will relieve the Twins of their 2013 obligations, saving the team $3.25 million ($3M in salary and $250,000 in a buyout).

 

The highly touted Japanese free agent never adapted well to the game at the highest level, hitting .215/.267/.236 in 254 plate appearances while provided terribly disappointing defense in the field.

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Jim Crikket First Round Pick

Jim Crikket

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I credit the Twins FO for at least being willing to take a chance on Nishioka, but obviously the scouting was faulty and the trade of Hardy was not a wise move. If media reports that Nishioka approached the Twins about being willing to forego the $3.25 million they would owe him for next year, then give him credit for that. Not sure many players would do that. Not sure I would do that. I'm sure he'll make a good share of that back by signing with a Japanese team for 2013 and I wish him the best of luck.

 

I also hope the Twins will do something with that $3.25 million of additional available salary other than pocket it.

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DaveW All-Star

DaveW

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Good show, Tsuyoshi. It takes a fair amount of sack to decline a paycheck you were guaranteed.

 

Or he preferred to go back to Japan (to take a slight paycut) where he could play in the best league/be a star again rather then riding the bus between Rochester and Scranton for another season?

 

I don't give him any credit, he was a terrible ball player for this club and is one of the reasons why this team finished in last place two years in a row. Good riddance.

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Boom Boom First Round Pick

Boom Boom

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Good show, Tsuyoshi. It takes a fair amount of sack to decline a paycheck you were guaranteed.

 

Or he preferred to go back to Japan (to take a slight paycut) where he could play in the best league/be a star again rather then riding the bus between Rochester and Scranton for another season?

 

I don't give him any credit, he was a terrible ball player for this club and is one of the reasons why this team finished in last place two years in a row. Good riddance.

 

 

He was a big part of the reason the 2011 team finished in last place. He had very little to do with how bad the 2012 team was/is.

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nokomismod Draft Eligible

nokomismod

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I would really be interested in hearing how this played out. My suspiscion is that TR spoke with Nish and his agent before Nishi's callup this summer and said something to the effect of you don't want to be playing in the minor leagues right? What if you we give you one last shot and if it doesn't work, you opt out at the end of the season?

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Jim Crikket First Round Pick

Jim Crikket

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I suspect it was more a situation where Nishi and his agent concluded that every year he spends playing minor league ball hurts his "brand" and will make it tougher for him to get back to the level of endorsement income he was getting when he left Japan. It was probably determined that it's in his best long-term best interests to start rebuilding his image as a "star" in Japan immediately, rather than waiting another year.

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kirbyelway Prep Ball

kirbyelway

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Good show, Tsuyoshi. It takes a fair amount of sack to decline a paycheck you were guaranteed.

 

Or he preferred to go back to Japan (to take a slight paycut) where he could play in the best league/be a star again rather then riding the bus between Rochester and Scranton for another season?

 

I don't give him any credit, he was a terrible ball player for this club and is one of the reasons why this team finished in last place two years in a row. Good riddance.

 

Get a clue. He was man enough to give up the money and was good enough to get the contract. He struggled playing here and I'm sure the change of scenery had a lot to do with it. Not his fault the team played terrible.

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Brock Beauchamp GOAT

Brock Beauchamp

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Good show, Tsuyoshi. It takes a fair amount of sack to decline a paycheck you were guaranteed.

 

Or he preferred to go back to Japan (to take a slight paycut) where he could play in the best league/be a star again rather then riding the bus between Rochester and Scranton for another season?

 

I don't give him any credit, he was a terrible ball player for this club and is one of the reasons why this team finished in last place two years in a row. Good riddance.

 

I'm not arguing that he wasn't awful, just saying that it takes some balls to walk away from millions of dollars as a complete and utter failure at your job. Few players will admit that to that, much less leave guaranteed money on the table.

 

After all, Nick Blackburn is still on the roster.

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Cody Christie MVP

Cody Christie

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I wish it could have worked out for the Twins and Nishioka. It would have been nice for him to develop into a solid regular but it was time for the two parties to part ways.

 

Good luck to him in his return to Japan. Hopefully, he can restart his career with a fresh start.

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Boom Boom First Round Pick

Boom Boom

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Good show, Tsuyoshi. It takes a fair amount of sack to decline a paycheck you were guaranteed.

 

Or he preferred to go back to Japan (to take a slight paycut) where he could play in the best league/be a star again rather then riding the bus between Rochester and Scranton for another season?

 

I don't give him any credit, he was a terrible ball player for this club and is one of the reasons why this team finished in last place two years in a row. Good riddance.

 

I'm not arguing that he wasn't awful, just saying that it takes some balls to walk away from millions of dollars as a complete and utter failure at your job. Few players will admit that to that, much less leave guaranteed money on the table.

 

After all, Nick Blackburn is still on the roster.

 

Nick Blackburn has it made in the shade, at least for 2013. It'll be the Summer of George for him. I wouldn't walk away from that.

 

But though he IS guaranteed money, he's not technically on the roster.

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DaveW All-Star

DaveW

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Good show, Tsuyoshi. It takes a fair amount of sack to decline a paycheck you were guaranteed.

 

Or he preferred to go back to Japan (to take a slight paycut) where he could play in the best league/be a star again rather then riding the bus between Rochester and Scranton for another season?

 

I don't give him any credit, he was a terrible ball player for this club and is one of the reasons why this team finished in last place two years in a row. Good riddance.

 

I'm not arguing that he wasn't awful, just saying that it takes some balls to walk away from millions of dollars as a complete and utter failure at your job. Few players will admit that to that, much less leave guaranteed money on the table.

 

After all, Nick Blackburn is still on the roster.

 

He's still going to make millions of dollars in Japan.

 

Again, he deserves zero credit and is probably one of worst players in major league history.

 

BYE!

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DaveW All-Star

DaveW

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Good show, Tsuyoshi. It takes a fair amount of sack to decline a paycheck you were guaranteed.

 

Or he preferred to go back to Japan (to take a slight paycut) where he could play in the best league/be a star again rather then riding the bus between Rochester and Scranton for another season?

 

I don't give him any credit, he was a terrible ball player for this club and is one of the reasons why this team finished in last place two years in a row. Good riddance.

 

 

He was a big part of the reason the 2011 team finished in last place. He had very little to do with how bad the 2012 team was/is.

 

The Twins got rid of Hardy and choose to bring in Nishioka to be the teams starting SS in 2011/12/13. The SS woes that plague the team this year are still his fault, since he was getting paid to be the starting SS.

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DaveW All-Star

DaveW

Old-Timey Member
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Good show, Tsuyoshi. It takes a fair amount of sack to decline a paycheck you were guaranteed.

 

Or he preferred to go back to Japan (to take a slight paycut) where he could play in the best league/be a star again rather then riding the bus between Rochester and Scranton for another season?

 

I don't give him any credit, he was a terrible ball player for this club and is one of the reasons why this team finished in last place two years in a row. Good riddance.

 

I'm not arguing that he wasn't awful, just saying that it takes some balls to walk away from millions of dollars as a complete and utter failure at your job. Few players will admit that to that, much less leave guaranteed money on the table.

 

After all, Nick Blackburn is still on the roster.

 

Nick Blackburn has it made in the shade, at least for 2013. It'll be the Summer of George for him. I wouldn't walk away from that.

 

But though he IS guaranteed money, he's not technically on the roster.

The Blackburn situation is entirely different, if he "walked away" from the money he would basically be retiring.

 

It's not like he can come out and say "I have been terrible, I want the Twins to release me" then turn around and try to come back to the majors for another team, if he gives that money back the players union would never let him back in. (I guarantee you Nishioka would be blackballed from ever coming back to the US...not that any team would want him)

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Boom Boom First Round Pick

Boom Boom

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Good show, Tsuyoshi. It takes a fair amount of sack to decline a paycheck you were guaranteed.

 

Or he preferred to go back to Japan (to take a slight paycut) where he could play in the best league/be a star again rather then riding the bus between Rochester and Scranton for another season?

 

I don't give him any credit, he was a terrible ball player for this club and is one of the reasons why this team finished in last place two years in a row. Good riddance.

 

 

He was a big part of the reason the 2011 team finished in last place. He had very little to do with how bad the 2012 team was/is.

 

The Twins got rid of Hardy and choose to bring in Nishioka to be the teams starting SS in 2011/12/13. The SS woes that plague the team this year are still his fault, since he was getting paid to be the starting SS.

 

 

I can't blame Nishioka for this season.

 

It's not Nishioka's fault that the Twins didn't like Hardy and traded him for nothing. It's not Nishioka's fault the Twins didn't do their due diligence before signing him. I guess you could argue he should have played better, but considering the statistics on him between AA, AAA, and MLB, I don't think he's performed below his talent level.

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LewFordLives Draft Eligible

LewFordLives

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Very classy move by Nishioka. I'm surprised he wasn't even able to negotiate some kind of buyout. I wish him the best.

 

I had high hopes for him when he first came to the Twins. I saw him down in Ft Myers in March of 2011 and he was constantly getting on base and looked very promising. I thought maybe the Twins found a diamond in the rough. Alas...it was not to be.

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JB_Iowa Ft Myers Mighty Mussels

JB_Iowa

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I see this as a good deal for both sides -- and I see it as the logical move by both sides. I don't think it says ANYTHING about anybody's honor or classiness.

 

It just makes cold business sense for both sides.

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nicksaviking All-Star

nicksaviking

Community Moderator
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In my book this takes him off the hook for the title of worst Twins free agent ever. At least the Twins recovered the $3.25 million where as the Twins had to pay Mike Lamb to be terrible for the Brewers after his release in 2008 and then pay him to be terrible for the Mets AAA team in 2009.

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Too Much Twins Prep Ball

Too Much Twins

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Good show, Tsuyoshi. It takes a fair amount of sack to decline a paycheck you were guaranteed.

 

Or he preferred to go back to Japan (to take a slight paycut) where he could play in the best league/be a star again rather then riding the bus between Rochester and Scranton for another season?

 

I don't give him any credit, he was a terrible ball player for this club and is one of the reasons why this team finished in last place two years in a row. Good riddance.

 

 

He was a big part of the reason the 2011 team finished in last place. He had very little to do with how bad the 2012 team was/is.

 

The Twins got rid of Hardy and choose to bring in Nishioka to be the teams starting SS in 2011/12/13. The SS woes that plague the team this year are still his fault, since he was getting paid to be the starting SS.

 

SpiritofVodkaDave, you're logic is crap and have some empathy. Nishioka did not make the Twins make the terrible Hardy trade. He didn't make them overpay him for three years. He did suck, but he didn't make the sucky decision that got nothing in return for Hardy and left them in a hole for three years. That blame lies with the FO.

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Fatt Crapps College Ball

Fatt Crapps

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Who would have guessed the guy with a .412 BABIP in 2010 would regress so hard.

 

Remember when Nick N and others questioned whether Nishi would succeed in the MLB based on many factors including babip? And those who disagreed called him a racist? Good times.

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