Padres' newest import only seasoned in Far East

By: BRIAN HIRO - Staff Writer | Wednesday, March 1, 2006 11:10 PM PST ∞

PEORIA, Ariz. ---- The Padres have lost Akinori Otsuka, one of their most well-liked players, but they haven't lost the Japanese influence in their bullpen.

Wander into the Padres' spring clubhouse, though, and you'd be hard pressed to pick out the Asian import. That's because Brian Sikorski started out as an American export, a Michigander who pitched in Japan the past five seasons before returning to the major leagues this year.

"The ultimate goal is to pitch in the big leagues as long as you can," Sikorski said. "But I feel that my time over there was well spent. I think I became a better player and I was able to see a different style of baseball and have a little success with it. I think, in the long run, it will help me. The downside is it takes five years away from me here."

The Padres are counting on the 31-year-old right-hander to make up for lost time. Two days after they agreed to trade Otsuka to the Texas Rangers in a six-player deal on Dec. 20, the Padres signed Sikorski away from the Yomiuri Giants of the Japanese Baseball League.

This spring, Sikorski will contend for the role that Otsuka filled late last season as the Padres' seventh-inning specialist, setting up Scott Linebrink and Trevor Hoffman. Padres manager Bruce Bochy compared Sikorski not with Otsuka but with Linebrink, because he pitches aggressively with his fastball and challenges hitters high in the strike zone.

Like Otsuka, however, Sikorski brings across the Pacific an impressive track record as a reliever. After three seasons with the Chiba Lotte Marines, he really hit his stride with the Giants. In the last two years, he combined to go 12-4 with a 2.99 ERA while exhibiting durability (165 1/3 innings), stuff (183 strikeouts) and control (55 walks).

Those numbers mean a lot to Bochy, who, besides having a positive experience with Otsuka, saw the quality of baseball in Japan firsthand when he managed a team of major-league stars on an exhibition tour in 2004.

"There's a good chance that if you have success there, you're going to have it here, too," Bochy said. "They have good hitters over there. It was a great experience for Brian, and something he can draw on."

The market for relievers in Japan has become a good one for the Padres. The club was interested in signing Japanese catcher Kenji Johjima, only to watch his price soar to the level of $16.5 million over three years, which Johjima received from the Seattle Mariners. By extreme contrast, Sikorski got a one-year contract for $500,000 ($1.25 million less than Otsuka is due this season), and only $200,000 of that money is guaranteed.

"What we've tried to focus on in Japan is the guys who you can get at a reasonable price," said Randy Smith, the Padres' director of international scouting, who discovered Otsuka three years ago. "It's easier to target those relievers because the reward outweighs the risk."

Coincidentally, Otsuka went to the Rangers, the same team that sold Sikorski to Chiba Lotte in 2001. A star pitcher at Western Michigan University who was drafted by Houston in 1995, Sikorski originally thought he would be in Japan for only a few months.

"Obviously, it didn't work out that way," he said.

Sikorski and his family ---- wife Samantha, son Easton, 6, and daughter Avery, 2 ---- came to enjoy their time in Japan. His wife traveled the country while he developed Japanese friends and slowly picked up some of the language. He even attracted something of a cult following for his frenetic warmup routine, which included running onto the field and swinging his arm on the mound.

"I don't know if they viewed me as the crazy guy or they enjoyed my enthusiasm," Sikorski said. "But I would always have fans swinging their arm to me and recognizing me that way."

Sikorski gauged the major-league interest after each season, but it wasn't until this year that he was determined to return to the States. He didn't want Easton to start school in a foreign land.

"It's going to be a big adjustment for my family," he said. "My son was used to going over to Japan and staying there. He already has asked me, 'When can we go back?' "

Contact staff writer Brian Hiro at b_hiro@hotmail.com.