The Rays signed Hideki Matsui. The Rays designated hitters are hitting for power but using up a lot of outs. I don’t know if Hideki has that much power left in him, but he should improve the OBP at the position.
The Rays signed Hideki Matsui. The Rays designated hitters are hitting for power but using up a lot of outs. I don’t know if Hideki has that much power left in him, but he should improve the OBP at the position.
I think Maddon and the Rays have come to appreciate the HR ball more. HR hitters with low OBP and high K’s are the new undervalued commodity. In a lower run environment, HR’s are more valuable.
Obviously, power hitters that can get on base are even more valuable, but they are expensive (Pujols, Fielder, etc).
Matsui OBP last year was lower than Luke Scotts OBP at DH this year, so I suspect Matsui is just a depth signing in case either Scott or Pena get hurt or cold.